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Matt Hancock says leaking of WhatsApp messages a ‘massive betrayal’ as he apologises to colleagues
Good morning. The Daily Telegraph has published another raft of stories based on Matt Hancock’s private Covid WhatsApp messages, filling the first nine pages of the paper. Here is my colleague Jessica Elgot’s story with the highlights.
This morning Matt Hancock has for the first time responded directly to the story. Yesterday his spokesperson issued a statement on his behalf, but this morning Hancock has put out a statement in his own name. He accuses Isabel Oakeshott, the journalist who gave the material to the Telegraph, of a “massive betrayal” and says he is “sorry” for the impact this has had on his colleagues (whose messages to Hancock are now also in the public domain).
He also denies a claim from Oakeshott that he sent her a menacing message in the early hours of yesterday morning, after the first Telegraph reports were published.
Here is his statement in full.
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. As we have seen, releasing them in this way gives a partial, biased account to suit an anti-lockdown agenda.
Isabel and I had worked closely together for more than a year on my book, based on legal confidentiality and a process approved by the Cabinet Office. Isabel repeatedly reiterated the importance of trust throughout, and then broke that trust.
Last night, I was accused of sending menacing messages to Isabel. This is also wrong. When I heard confused rumours of a publication late on Tuesday night, I called and messaged Isabel to ask her if she had ‘any clues’ about it, and got no response. When I then saw what she’d done, I messaged to say it was ‘a big mistake’. Nothing more.
I will not be commenting further on any other stories or false allegations that Isabel will make. I will respond to the substance in the appropriate place, at the inquiry, so that we can properly learn all the lessons based on a full and objective understanding of what happened in the pandemic, and why.
Here is the agenda for the day.
10.30am: Penny Mordaunt, the Commons leader, makes a statment to MPs on next week’s business.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
11.30am: Rishi Sunak opens at an away-day for Conservative MPs at a hotel in Windsor, where they spend the day at presentations and seminars, before dinner. MPs are staying the night and there is another session tomorrow morning.
12pm: Boris Johnson is due to speak at a conference in Westminster on global soft power.
12pm: Nicola Sturgeon takes first minister’s questions at Holyrood.
I’ll try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com.
Key events
Johnson is now delivering the speech he used to give as London mayor about how great London, or the UK.
And he criticising the idea of returning the Elgin marbles to Greece.
Johnson is now on about freedom of speech, and Roald Dahl. He sings the Augustus Gloop song, and says nobody should be banned from reading the original James Bond novels.
(They’re not.)
Boris Johnson says he is going to use his speech to provide an analysis of soft power.
But he starts with a story about going for a run, and and someone sounding out a cheery London greeting, “Wanker”.
(I think Johnson has been telling this story, or a version of it, for at least a decade. In previous incarnations, Johnson was on his bike when he was shouted at.)
Johnson says this shows how “minimal” the distance is between the government and the governed in the UK. It would not happen to Vladimir Putin, he says.
(Johnson is overlooking the fact that he is no longer in government.)
Boris Johnson is being introduced now. Apparently it is his first major speech in Europe since stepping down as PM.
Boris Johnson is due to speak at the BrandFinance global soft power summit at 12pm. There is a live feed here.
According to the Times’ Steven Swinford, Johnson will use his speech to express concerns about Rishi Sunak’s Northern Ireland protocol deal.
Boris Johnson will today raise concerns about Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal in first public intervention since it was announced
He won’t oppose it outright, but retains view that dropping NI Protocol bill is a mistakehttps://t.co/1den0KfBbO
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) March 2, 2023
Turning away from Matt Hancock for a moment, the Labour party has not denied a story from Sky’s Joe Pike last night saying Keir Starmer is considering hiring Sue Gray, the senior civil servant who conducted the Partygate inquiry, as his chief of staff. Pike says:
Allies of the Labour leader say that due to the relative inexperience of his team, a candidate who understands how to operate at the top level of government is essential.
Ms Gray’s appointment would echo Tony Blair’s recruitment of diplomat Jonathan Powell while Labour was in opposition in 1995.
In a post on Twitter, James Macintyre, the journalist and former New Statesman political correspondent, says he’s been told Gray has already accepted the job.
I’ve asked Labour for a comment, and will tell you when they respond.
Another story from the Telegraph’s lockdown files quotes Helen Whately, the social care minister, saying there was not a “robust rationale” for the rule of six.
The Telegraph story, with the full version of this exchange, is here.
WhatsApp messages reveal Boris Johnson’s concern about performing repeated U-turns
One of the new stories from the Daily Telegraph’s lockdown files shows that the government decided to say secondary school pupils in England should be required to wear masks in communal settings such as corridors from September 2020, in part because ministers did not want to be out of step with Scotland, where masks were required in schools. As with most of the Telegraph’s lockdown stories, the biggest attraction is the voyeuristic opportunity to read what Boris Johnson and his advisers were saying in WhatsApp messages never intended for public distribution.
Here is the opening of the exchange featured in the story.
And here is Johnson’s final message.
It is sometimes assumed that prime ministers are omnipotent within Whitehall. That “God knows why” shows that they’re not – or at least that Johnson wasn’t. He was exasperated by his government’s own guidance.
The exchanges also show that criticism that his government was constantly performing U-turns (as in this article, published in the Guardian three weeks before Johnson wrote this WhatsApp message) clearly riled him.
Penny Mordaunt, the Commons leader, has announced the business scheduled for next week in the House of Commons. She did not mention a vote on the Northern Ireland protocol deal, which means it is unlikely to happen next week (though it is not totally impossible – debates can always be scheduled at short notice).
In an interview with Times Radio this morning Isabel Oakeshott said that she wanted to maintain “the moral high ground” in her dispute with Matt Hancock. Echoing what she told Today about not wanting to engage in a “slanging match” with him (see 9.09am), she told Times Radio:
I would prefer to maintain the moral high ground. If Matt Hancock wants to enter into an ugly fight with me, then that would be an interesting judgment on his part. I wouldn’t advise it.
Sunak’s approval ratings have risen in light of Northern Ireland protocol deal, poll suggests
Rishi Sunak’s approval ratings have risen following the announcement of his deal with the EU to revise the Northern Ireland protocol, according to figures released by YouGov. His ratings (based on responses to the question “do you have a favourable or unfavourable opinion of X”) are still lower than Keir Starmer’s, but they are a lot better than his party’s.
In a commentary on the figures, YouGov says:
[Sunak’s] popularity boost extends across the political spectrum. Among Tory voters, the proportion with a favourable view of the PM is up seven points from 50% to 57%, while among Labour voters it is up from 12% to 19%. More than four in ten leave voters (43%) now have a positive opinion of the prime minister, up from 38%, while among remain voters the increase has been from 25% to 32%.
Sunak’s net favourability of score -21 still trails Labour rival Keir Starmer’s (-11) by double digits. While about as many people have a favourable view of the leader of the opposition (37%) as the prime minister, fewer people dislike him (48%). Unlike Sunak, Starmer’s ratings are virtually identical to those from the previous survey.
Labour says Hancock/Williamson WhatsApp messages are ‘kick in teeth for teachers’
Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, has said the WhatsApp exchanges between Matt Hancock and Gavin Williamson (see 9.41am) show how little Conservatives value teachers. The messages were a “kick in the teeth’” for the profession, she claimed. She said:
These comments are a kick in the teeth for teachers who stretched every sinew for children during the pandemic.
They add insult to injury at a time when fewer people are joining the profession, and when teachers are leaving classrooms in their droves.
The Conservatives have shown us today exactly how much they value our teachers. Labour will always value the incredible work all school staff do.
People say things ‘in heat of moment’ on WhatsApp ‘they don’t really believe’, says minister, defending Gavin Williamson
Nick Gibb, the schools minister who was doing the same job when Gavin Williamson was education secretary during the pandemic, defended his old boss in the light of what he said about teachers on WhatsApp. (See 9.42am.) In an interview with LBC, Gibb said people sometimes “in the heat of the moment” say things on WhatsApp “they don’t really believe”. He said:
I think [Williamson] was talking about the union, but I don’t think he believes that either. Gavin’s own wife is a primary school teacher – I’ve worked with Gavin for two years; I know he holds teachers in the highest regard.
We all in government hold teachers in the highest regard, both during the pandemic and in normal times as well.
People say things in the heat of the moment on WhatsApp that they don’t really believe.
In a separate interview, Gibb said it would be up to the Covid inquiry to decide whether or not the government made the right decisions about opening and closing schools during the pandemic.
Here is an extract from Isabel Oakeshott’s interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV last night. In it, she talks about getting a menacing message from Matt Hancock in the early hours of yesterday. (See 9.16am.) She also says that, after they collaborated on his Pandemic Diaries, Hancock reneged on an agreement to give her an interview for TalkTV, which she said was important to her because she is international editor there. But she said that was not the reason why she decided to release his messages.
Teaching union leader says Gavin Williamson’s pandemic WhatsApp comments about teachers ‘contemptible’
The Daily Telegraph has published WhatsApp messages showing Matt Hancock, the then health secretary, and Sir Gavin Williamson, the then education secretary, criticising teaching unions, or some teachers generally.
It has published this exchange from May 2020, when Williamson wanted schools to be able to get PPE from local resilience forums (LRFs). Williamson said some schools did not want to re-open “to avoid having to teach”.
In October that year the two ministers had a similar exchange, focusing on the teaching unions. The Telegraph reports:
At almost 10pm Mr Hancock got in touch with his Cabinet colleague, writing: “Cracking announcement today. What a bunch of absolute arses the teaching unions are”
Sir Gavin responded: “I know they really really do just hate work”
To which Mr Hancock replied: “😂😂🎯 “
This morning Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders union, said Williamson’s comments were “contemptible”. Barton told BBC Breakfast:
It’s contemptible because we have to remind ourselves that this was an age of extraordinary anxiety. We hadn’t got vaccines.
And the government was starting to look to the teaching profession to welcome those young people back into school … And essentially, the very people who then brought those young people back into school are being described in those snide terms by the former education secretary.
In a statement responding to the Telegraph report, Williamson said:
Further to reports in the Telegraph and other outlets, I wish to clarify that these messages were about some unions and not teachers. As demonstrated in the exchange, I was responding regarding unions.
I have the utmost respect for teachers who work tirelessly to support students. During the pandemic, teachers went above and beyond during very challenging times and very much continue to do so.
Starmer urged to act after councillor barred from contesting ‘red wall’ seat
Keir Starmer has been urged to intervene in the selection process for a Labour target “red wall” seat, after a leading candidate who had the support of eight trade unions was blocked from standing, my colleague Aletha Adu reports.
In his statement this morning (see 8.45am) Matt Hancock denies sending Isabel Oakeshott a threatening message in the early hours of yesterday morning, after he realised she had given his WhatsApp messages to the Daily Telegraph. He says:
When I heard confused rumours of a publication late on Tuesday night, I called and messaged Isabel to ask her if she had ‘any clues’ about it, and got no response. When I then saw what she’d done, I messaged to say it was ‘a big mistake’. Nothing more.
In her Today interview, Oakeshott defended her decision to describe the message as “menacing” and “threatening”. She did not reveal exactly what he said. But she told the programme:
I’m saying that he sent me a message at 1.20am in the morning. It wasn’t a pleasant message.
In her Today interview Oakeshott also denied being paid by the Daily Telegraph directly for the messages. She said:
I’m a working journalist.
They did not pay me for the messages. I’ve been helping the Daily Telegraph with the investigation, you’ll see that I’ve been writing stories for the Daily Telegraph.
Anyone who thinks I did this for money must be utterly insane. This is about the millions of people, every one of us in this country that were adversely affected by the catastrophic decisions to lock down this country repeatedly, often on the flimsiest of evidence for political reasons.
Isabel Oakeshott says it’s ‘ridiculous’ for Hancock to claim no public interest in disclosure of WhatsApp messages
Isabel Oakeshott, the journalist who handed over Matt Hancock’s private Covid WhatsApp messages (which she had seen when co-authoring his Pandemic Diaries) to the Daily Telegraph, has been giving interviews this morning.
On the Today programme, where she was interviewed at 7.10am, she said she would not be getting into a “slanging match” with Hancock. She said:
Do you know what I’m not going to do, because it wouldn’t be pretty, is get involved in a slanging match with Matt Hancock.
He can threaten me all he likes. There are plenty of things I can say about his behaviour, by the way, that I’m not going to do – at least not at this stage – because this is not about Matt Hancock. It is so much bigger than that.
But that did not stop her doing a little bit of slanging after Hancock released his statement (see 8.45am) around an hour later condemning her conduct. Referring to his claim that there was “no public interest case” for what she had done, she told TalkTV:
What a ridiculous defence. For someone who’s as intelligent as Matt Hancock to issue a statement saying there is no public interest in these revelations is patently absurd. And he knows that very well.
Matt Hancock says leaking of WhatsApp messages a ‘massive betrayal’ as he apologises to colleagues
Good morning. The Daily Telegraph has published another raft of stories based on Matt Hancock’s private Covid WhatsApp messages, filling the first nine pages of the paper. Here is my colleague Jessica Elgot’s story with the highlights.
This morning Matt Hancock has for the first time responded directly to the story. Yesterday his spokesperson issued a statement on his behalf, but this morning Hancock has put out a statement in his own name. He accuses Isabel Oakeshott, the journalist who gave the material to the Telegraph, of a “massive betrayal” and says he is “sorry” for the impact this has had on his colleagues (whose messages to Hancock are now also in the public domain).
He also denies a claim from Oakeshott that he sent her a menacing message in the early hours of yesterday morning, after the first Telegraph reports were published.
Here is his statement in full.
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. As we have seen, releasing them in this way gives a partial, biased account to suit an anti-lockdown agenda.
Isabel and I had worked closely together for more than a year on my book, based on legal confidentiality and a process approved by the Cabinet Office. Isabel repeatedly reiterated the importance of trust throughout, and then broke that trust.
Last night, I was accused of sending menacing messages to Isabel. This is also wrong. When I heard confused rumours of a publication late on Tuesday night, I called and messaged Isabel to ask her if she had ‘any clues’ about it, and got no response. When I then saw what she’d done, I messaged to say it was ‘a big mistake’. Nothing more.
I will not be commenting further on any other stories or false allegations that Isabel will make. I will respond to the substance in the appropriate place, at the inquiry, so that we can properly learn all the lessons based on a full and objective understanding of what happened in the pandemic, and why.
Here is the agenda for the day.
10.30am: Penny Mordaunt, the Commons leader, makes a statment to MPs on next week’s business.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
11.30am: Rishi Sunak opens at an away-day for Conservative MPs at a hotel in Windsor, where they spend the day at presentations and seminars, before dinner. MPs are staying the night and there is another session tomorrow morning.
12pm: Boris Johnson is due to speak at a conference in Westminster on global soft power.
12pm: Nicola Sturgeon takes first minister’s questions at Holyrood.
I’ll try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com.
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