Hancock Criticises 'wholly Naive' Covid Inquiry

Matt Hancock has defended authorities deals to bargain individual protective instrumentality (PPE) during nan pandemic, saying nan state was successful a "desperate situation" astatine nan time.

In a bad-tempered convention astatine nan Covid inquiry, nan erstwhile wellness caput many times criticised nan statement of questioning describing it arsenic "naive", "hostile" and "inappropriate".

He said he was "not astatine each surprised" erstwhile a alleged VIP lane for PPE suppliers pinch a governmental relationship was group up, describing it arsenic "standard practice".

At 1 point, nan chairwoman of nan inquiry, Baroness Hallett, intervened, telling Hancock it was her occupation to study lessons for immoderate early pandemic.

Hancock was appearing for nan 5th clip astatine nan Covid inquiry, which is now investigating nan acquisition and distribution of £15bn of PPE successful nan pandemic, on pinch testing kits, ventilators and different pieces of aesculapian equipment.

He defended a nationalist "call to arms" made astatine a Downing Street news convention connected 10 April 2020 for much UK suppliers of PPE to travel forward.

The enquiry has heard from erstwhile witnesses, including nan government's erstwhile main commercialized serviceman Sir Gareth Rhys Williams, that nan entreaty was counterproductive, starring to a ample number of approaches which threatened to overwhelm nan system.

"We were radically short of PPE [at nan time] and nan state was astir to tally retired astatine a nationalist level," Hancock told nan inquiry.

"No-one has testified that nan telephone to arms led to thing different than much PPE… So I guidelines by that."

The erstwhile wellness caput was past asked astir nan High Priority Lane, aliases VIP lane, which was group up by officials successful nan Department of Health successful England to thief negociate offers by prioritising those referred by an MP, personnel of nan House of Lords aliases elder civilian servant.

Hancock said he was not progressive successful designing nan system, which he said had made him nan target of an "enormous magnitude of conspiracy theories".

The enquiry commissioned an master study from Prof Albert Sanchez-Graells, a professor of rule astatine nan University of Bristol, which was captious of nan attack and recovered nary grounds of akin prioritisation successful Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, aliases different countries astir nan world.

"It's good having academics constitute papers astir this stuff… but you've sewage to understand what it was for illustration [at nan time]," said Hancock.

"The unit to prevention lives was intense, but truthful was nan reality that high-quality offers would beryllium sent done to elder decision-makers, and you had to person a process for dealing pinch that."

He said that different countries would person had their ain systems for prioritising offers for PPE and aesculapian instrumentality successful different ways.

Hancock was later asked astir a statement awarded to a patient tally by Alex Bourne, who owned a pub successful his West Suffolk constituency, to make vials for Covid testing.

Emails show Hancock passed connected communications from Mr Bourne to nan past wellness curate Lord Bethell, describing his study of nan wider testing strategy arsenic a "very absorbing critique" from a "very awesome guy".

In questioning, Hancock said he acted pinch "impeccable behaviour" astatine nan time, and accused nan inquiry's main counsel Richard Wald KC of cherry-picking a "couple of messages" that person nan "most tabloid interest".

He said nan enquiry had followed a "wholly naive" statement of questioning by ignoring nan reality of nan business astatine nan time, while making "terribly pejorative" statements that were "totally inappropriate".

At nan conclusion of his evidence, Baroness Hallett told Hancock that he "was not nan first and I'm judge won't beryllium nan past witnesser to deliberation nan enquiry is each astir criticising people".

"My purpose is to analyse what happened, to research matters of nationalist concern, to get group to reply connected those areas, and to effort to travel up pinch recommendations that will prevention lives," she added.