Matt Hancock ‘profoundly sorry’ for each dying brought on by Covid-19
M
att Hancock issued an apology for each Covid dying and instructed the general public inquiry “there isn’t a day that goes by” when he doesn’t consider the lifeless and their grieving kinfolk.
The former Health Secretary confronted a primary bout of questioning earlier than the UK’s Covid-19 Inquiry on Tuesday, and stated the nation made a “huge error” with the way in which it deliberate for pandemics.
In his witness assertion, Mr Hancock wrote: “There isn’t a day that goes by that I do not think about all those who lost their lives to this awful disease or the loved ones they have left behind.
“My office in Parliament overlooks the National Memorial Covid Wall. I have visited the wall and been able to read about many of the families affected. I express my deepest sympathies to all those affected.”
Giving dwell proof, Mr Hancock acknowledged he was conscious after taking over the Health Secretary job in July 2018 that Britain had restricted testing capability, issues with stockpiling antivirals, and preparations have been centered on a flu, not coronavirus, pandemic.
Questioned why he had not acted to repair the issues, he stated: “I was assured that the UK planning was among the best and in some instances the best in the world.
“Of course with hindsight I wish I had spent that short period of time as health secretary before the pandemic struck also changing the entire attitude to how we respond to pandemics.
“One of the reasons I felt so strongly about the important of this inquiry, and why I’m so emotionally committed to making sure it is a success, with full transparency and total, brutal honesty, answering questions to get to the bottom of this, is because of this huge error in the doctrine that the UK and the whole western world had in how to tackle a pandemic.
“That flawed doctrine underpinned many problems that made it extremely difficult to respond.
“I am profoundly sorry for the impact that had. I’m profoundly sorry for each death that has occurred.
“I also understand why for some it will be hard to take that apology from me. I understand that, I get it.
“It’s honest and heartfelt. I’m not very good at talking about my emotions and how I feel. But that is honest and true, and all I can do is ensure that this inquiry gets to the bottom of it and in the future we learn the right lessons so we stop a pandemic in its tracks much much earlier, and we have systems in place ready to do that.
“I’m worried that they are being dismantled as we speak.”
Arriving on the Inquiry centre in west London, Mr Hancock was confronted with pictures of a lifeless Covid-19 sufferer and a requirement from a widow to “tell the truth”.
Lorelei King
/ PALorelei King, 69, held pictures of her husband Vincent Marzello, 72, who died in a care house in March 2020. In one photograph, he’s pictured assembly Hancock, and it was captioned: “You shook my husband’s hand for your photo op.”
In her different hand was an A4 picture of her husband’s coffin, captioned: “This was my photo op after your ‘ring of protection’ around care homes.”
Ms King insisted Mr Hancock should “tell the truth”, telling reporters: “The bereaved families deserve that much.”
Beginning his proof, Mr Hancock insisted: “I took my responsibilities as the principle responder to a pandemic very seriously.
“As Secretary of State, I felt keenly the responsibility as, essentially, the lead responder in the first instance to these sorts of health emergencies that it was part of my day to day work, because these emergencies happen from time to time.”
Counsel to the inquiry Hugo Keith KC made it clear Mr Hancock wouldn’t be questioned at this time on vaccines, PPE provide, take a look at and hint, and different points that arose when the pandemic started.
The politician will return to offer proof on these subjects throughout later levels of the inquiry.
Last week, former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt stated the UK had been ranked as among the finest on this planet for pandemic preparations, however its plans have been geared toward dealing with deaths relatively than stopping the unfold of a illness within the first place.
Mr Hancock echoed his feedback, saying the UK was “geared towards how to clear up after a disaster, not prevent it.”
He stated he had questioned his division’s plans for pandemics after receiving a briefing in August 2018.
“One of the areas I pushed hard on was looking at the UK’s domestic vaccine manufacturing, given the importance of a vaccine in responding to a pandemic”, he stated.
“It’s an area I worked on intensively up until the pandemic struck.”
Mr Hancock stated the nation have to be ready for “wider, earlier, more stringent” lockdowns within the occasion of future pandemics.
“The failure to plan for that was a much bigger flaw in the strategy than the fact that it was targeted at the wrong disease”, he instructed the listening to.
“I understand deeply the consequences of lockdown and the negative consequences for many, many people – many of which persist to this day.”
He additionally acknowledged that Brexit planning had taken sources away from the nation’s pandemic planning. “I take full responsibility for the fact that in the face of Brexit and the threats that a disorganised Brexit could do, the resources were moved across the department to focus on that threat, including away from pandemic preparedness-planning.
“This was proposed to me by the permanent secretary and the CMO (chief medical officer), and I signed it off. I regarded the secretary of state’s job not to run the department in terms of resource allocation, but to set the direction, but I signed off that decision.
“The thing is that you face a lot of risks and threats.”
The inquiry continues.