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The damning emails that prove Matt Hancock misled the public about his friend's Covid contract: He repeatedly insisted he had 'nothing to do with it'... but these messages reveal the truth
Emails show Matt Hancock sent friend's plea for business to senior civil servant
Within weeks friend Alex Bourne had secured a £30m deal to supply test tubes
Ex Health Secretary as repeatedly insisted he had 'nothing to do' with the deal
The weasel words that hid the reality
'A constituent of mine came forward and approached the Government and went through the normal channels… I had nothing to do with this contract. I don’t have anything to do with the signing of individual contracts.’
Sky News, December 2, 2020
‘I had absolutely nothing to do with that contract.’
No 10 coronavirus press conference, December 10, 2020
‘As I have repeatedly said, I didn’t have anything to do with that contract. This has been looked into by the National Audit Office who confirmed that position.’
Good Morning Britain, February 23, 2021
His officials fought tooth and nail to stop us getting bombshell messages
The Department of Health and Social Care battled for months to keep email exchanges between Matt Hancock and his friend a secret – and only caved in when threatened with court action.
The Mail on Sunday submitted a request for information on February 23, asking for copies of emails and WhatsApp messages exchanged by the two men between March and December 2020, as well as the transcripts of any relevant telephone conversations. The DHSC failed to reply to that or a subsequent request for an internal review.
The MoS then complained to Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham, who – after reminding officials of their responsibilities under the Freedom of Information Act – issued a Decision Notice on June 15 in which she stated that a failure to respond was a breach of the law.
She warned that a failure to respond within 35 calendar days could lead to High Court action for contempt of court. Three days later, the DHSC capitulated.
However, while it supplied Alex Bourne’s communications to the Health Secretary, it ignored the part of the FoI request which asked for those written by Mr Hancock.
Officials also redacted swathes of the exchanges and said it could not find any details of phone conversations alluded to in the documents, and that Mr Hancock had no recollection of them.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9728949/The-damning-emails-prove-Matt-Hancock-misled-public-friends-Covid-contract.html
Emails show Matt Hancock sent friend's plea for business to senior civil servant
Within weeks friend Alex Bourne had secured a £30m deal to supply test tubes
Ex Health Secretary as repeatedly insisted he had 'nothing to do' with the deal
The weasel words that hid the reality
'A constituent of mine came forward and approached the Government and went through the normal channels… I had nothing to do with this contract. I don’t have anything to do with the signing of individual contracts.’
Sky News, December 2, 2020
‘I had absolutely nothing to do with that contract.’
No 10 coronavirus press conference, December 10, 2020
‘As I have repeatedly said, I didn’t have anything to do with that contract. This has been looked into by the National Audit Office who confirmed that position.’
Good Morning Britain, February 23, 2021
His officials fought tooth and nail to stop us getting bombshell messages
The Department of Health and Social Care battled for months to keep email exchanges between Matt Hancock and his friend a secret – and only caved in when threatened with court action.
The Mail on Sunday submitted a request for information on February 23, asking for copies of emails and WhatsApp messages exchanged by the two men between March and December 2020, as well as the transcripts of any relevant telephone conversations. The DHSC failed to reply to that or a subsequent request for an internal review.
The MoS then complained to Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham, who – after reminding officials of their responsibilities under the Freedom of Information Act – issued a Decision Notice on June 15 in which she stated that a failure to respond was a breach of the law.
She warned that a failure to respond within 35 calendar days could lead to High Court action for contempt of court. Three days later, the DHSC capitulated.
However, while it supplied Alex Bourne’s communications to the Health Secretary, it ignored the part of the FoI request which asked for those written by Mr Hancock.
Officials also redacted swathes of the exchanges and said it could not find any details of phone conversations alluded to in the documents, and that Mr Hancock had no recollection of them.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9728949/The-damning-emails-prove-Matt-Hancock-misled-public-friends-Covid-contract.html
Comments
Labour is demanding Matt Hancock be investigated for routinely using a personal Gmail account since March 2020, instead of a departmental email address.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9731063/Labour-calls-investigation-Matt-Hancock-private-emails-pub-landlords-30m-deal.html
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/boris-johnson-faces-furious-calls-to-sack-health-minister-who-used-private-email/ar-AALAgn9?ocid=msedgntp
18:02 , Sam Hancock
Former health secretary Matt Hancock’s deputy held 27 meetings which went undeclared for more than a year, The Mirror is reporting exclusively.
The newspaper found Lord Bethell did not declare a week’s worth of meetings – at least nine of which were with firms who later obtained millions of pounds worth of Covid contracts.
Labour leader Angela Rayner described Lord Bethell as “Matt Hancock’s mate” in a tweet about the story, saying the companies in question “were given over £1 billion in contracts. Lord Bethell must be sacked & this racket must end now”.
Angela Rayner
@AngelaRayner
·
1h
Matt Hancock’s mate and donor
@JimBethell
- the minister who handed out taxpayers’ money on his private email - had 27 meetings with companies and didn’t declare them.
The companies were given over £1 billion in contracts. Lord Bethell must be sacked & this racket must end now.
Javid makes apparent dig at predecessor Hancock
17:10 , Sam Hancock
New health secretary Sajid Javid appears to have made a dig at his predecessor Matt Hancock.
Asked on Twitter why he was not wearing an NHS badge like Mr Hancock always had pinned to his jacket, the new secretary of state responded: “It’s not about badges, but delivering for the NHS.”
Hancock faces growing calls to resign as West Suffolk MP
16:35 , Sam Hancock
Matt Hancock continues to face backlash in his constituency after a Conservative councillor asked party colleagues to deselect the MP if the “selfish, egotistical” former health secretary did not resign.
Ian Houlder has written to the local party calling for Mr Hancock’s deselection as West Suffolk MP for breaking coronavirus guidance by kissing an aide, which prompted his resignation from cabinet.
“His behaviour has been beyond the pale, his honour, integrity, probity and honesty, should he have had any, trashed beyond redemption,” the Tory councillor wrote. “He has let every member of the public down, pontificating that they should all make huge sacrifices on the altar of the pandemic, whilst doing the complete opposite himself.”
Mr Houlder, who sits on West Suffolk Council, also wrote directly to Mr Hancock, saying: “If you have a shred of integrity or honour you would resign without delay. Do the residents of West Suffolk a favour and stand down.”
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/brexit/brexit-news-live-eu-and-uk-strike-sausage-war-truce-as-northern-ireland-protocol-grace-period-extended/ar-AALBRBp?ocid=msedgntp
Investigation launched into private email use in Department of Health
Health bill could see NHS contracts awarded without tender process
The information commissioner has launched an official investigation into the use of private email accounts by health ministers, as a separate standards probe is launched over the decision to grant a parliamentary pass to Matt Hancock’s alleged lover Gina Coladangelo.
Reports surfaced last month that now-former Health Secretary Matt Hancock and current health minister Lord Bethell both primarily used private email accounts to discuss their work, contrary to the Government’s own official guidance.
On Tuesday, Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham confirmed a “formal investigation” into the use of private correspondence channels at the Department for Health and Social Care, adding that she had served notices “on the department and others to preserve evidence relevant to my inquiry.”
She said that use of private correspondence channels “to conduct sensitive official business” could harm transparency by allowing correspondence to fall off the official record, though she stressed the use of a private email account “does not in itself break freedom of information or data protection rules.”
Ms Denham said the investigation “will establish if private correspondence channels have been used, and if their use led to breaches of freedom of information or data protection law.”
She added: “The ICO has a range of powers following the completion of an investigation, ranging from good practice recommendations and enforcement notices, up to the option of criminal prosecution of individuals where information has been deliberately destroyed, altered, or concealed after it has been requested under the Freedom of Information Act.
“I will follow the evidence in this investigation where it leads and use all the powers available to me to ensure a full understanding of what has happened.
“I will not comment further until the conclusion of our investigative work.”
Meanwhile, a separate standards probe has been opened after it emerged that Lord Bethell had sponsored a parliamentary pass for Gina Coladangelo, the married aide that Matt Hancock was caught kissing on CCTV.
The Lords Commissioner for Standards confirmed on Tuesday that Lord Bethell was under investigation over his “use of facilities” in relation to Gina Coladangelo.
A House of Lords spokesman said: “The Commissioner for Standards is investigating a complaint regarding Lord Bethell sponsoring a pass for Gina Coladangelo.”
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/matt-hancock-scandal-burns-on-with-probes-over-use-of-private-emails-and-gina-coladangelo-parliamentary-pass/ar-AALQyrI?ocid=msedgntp