02 March 2023 , 12:23
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Thousands of WhatsApp messages sent and received by former health secretary Matt Hancock at the height of the pandemic have been made public.
And the I'm A Celebrity star was quick to denounce the 'massive betrayal and breach of trust' after the exchanges were published in The Daily Telegraph.
The messages - which were shared with journalist Isabel Oakeshott, who worked with him on his Pandemic Diaries book - shed new light on the government's handling of the covid pandemic.
Among them were allegations Mr Hancock had rejected testing advice on care homes and voiced concern it could get in the way of meeting his targets.
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Other messages appeared to show a clash between Mr Hancock and former education secretary Sir Gavin Williamson over school closures, with the latter accused of saying teachers were angling for an 'excuse' not to work during the pandemic.
Mr Hancock strongly refuted the 'distorted account', with a spokesman claiming the conversations had been 'spun to fit an anti-lockdown agenda'.
The MP said: "I am hugely disappointed and sad at the massive betrayal and breach of trust by Isabel Oakeshott. I am also sorry for the impact on the very many people - political colleagues, civil servants and friends - who worked hard with me to get through the pandemic and save lives.
"There is absolutely no public interest case for this huge breach. All the materials for the book have already been made available to the inquiry, which is the right, and only, place for everything to be considered properly and the right lessons to be learned".
The leaked messages will doubtless add further fuel to growing resentment over the Tory government - but what do YOU think?
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