Journalist and ghost-writer Isabel Oakeshott has leaked over 100,00 WhatsApp messages made available to her during her work on Matt Hancock’s book ‘Pandemic Diaries’. Oakeshott broke her non-disclosure agreement (which was using the messages solely as confidential background information for the book), defending the breach by saying it was ‘in the overwhelming public interest’. The journalist’s heavy criticism of lockdown measure implementation has been condemned by Hancock’s spokesperson. While a UK public inquiry has been opened on the government’s handling of the pandemic, she was wary of how long the conclusion could take. She has passed the trove to The Telegraph but has not yet confirmed how much she got paid for it, saying anyone believing she did this for the payment ‘must be utterly insane’.
The messages have caused controversy regarding officials’ attitude to the COVID-19 lockdowns and the people affected by it, such as those kept in ‘shoe box’ rooms in hotels. Simon Case, currently Cabinet Secretary, asked Hancock the day after England introduced mandatory quarantine from 33 countries ‘how many people we locked up in hotels yesterday’. Upon being told that ‘149 chose to enter the country and are now in quarantine hotels due to their own free will’, Case replied with a short ‘hilarious’.
The Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, has reacted to the ministers’ texts regarding pandemic law enforcement, where Hancock referred to the officers as ‘the plod’. Cooper has called out the minister’s ‘arrogance and shameful lack of respect’. The ministers received criticism from Cooper and the public alike, as last year it was revealed that they were attending ‘lockdown parties’ that were breaking the law.
Further messages reveal that Hancock was advised in April 2020 to test all residents going into care homes. However, the mandate passed only required testing for those leaving hospital. The messages claim that care-home testing would “muddy the waters”. Despite this, a spokesperson has claimed the messages to be ‘doctored’. According to the ONS, there were 43,256 deaths between March 2020 and January 2022 in care homes in England alone.
Hancock also messaged the Education Secretary at the time, Sir Gavin Williamson: ‘What a bunch of arses the teaching unions are’, to which Williamson replied ‘I know they really do just hate work’. The texts came after A-level exams were delayed by a shorter period of time than the unions asked for. The Education Secretary also asked for help acquiring PPE before schools reopening, then followed up with: ‘some will want to say they can’t [open] so they have an excuse to avoid having to teach’.
Messaging to his adviser, Hancock seemed to fear Sadiq Khan’s push for stricter restriction in December 2020, following the same reaction from Andy Burnham, Greater Manchester Mayor. Hancock had planned a timeline to “deploy” a new variant of Covid to the media, saying : ‘We frighten the pants of everyone with the new strain’. The conversation took place on December 13, and a new variant that affected primarily south-east England was announced on December 14.
Rishi Sunak has said that he will not comment on ‘piecemeal’ information, and instead supported the government inquiry as ‘the right way for these things to be looked at’.
The former Health Secretary has called the leak a ‘massive betrayal and breach of trust’ and stated that ‘Isabel repeatedly reiterated the importance of trust throughout’. The journalist has claimed that Hancock’s response was a threatening message, to which he responded by stating he just texted her saying the leak was a ‘big mistake’.