Locking the UK down three weeks earlier would have saved “many, many lives” through the Covid pandemic, Matt Hancock has claimed.
The previous well being secretary stated the measures ought to have been launched on March 2, 2020 as a substitute of March 23.
He admitted that he was talking with the advantage of hindsight and defended the federal government’s resolution to carry off from locking down the nation on the time.
Hancock was talking throughout his second proof session on the Covid Inquiry.
He stated: “On the time, there was nonetheless monumental uncertainty, the variety of instances was nonetheless very low – in actual fact, there have been solely 12 instances reported on March 1 – and the prices of what I’m proposing have been identified and big.
“So I defend the actions that have been taken by the federal government on the time, realizing what we did, however with hindsight, that’s the second we should always have carried out it, three weeks earlier, and it could have been, would have saved, many, many lives.
“Having clearly thought of this and mirrored on this an enormous deal over the previous couple of years, the primary second we realistically might have actually cracked it was on March 2, three weeks sooner than we did.”
Hancock was additionally accused by Dominic Cummings of mendacity to the inquiry over his declare that he had pushed then prime minister Boris Johnson on March 13 to order a lockdown.
Cummings posted on X (previously Twitter): “Hancock flat out mendacity to inquiry claiming he privately pushed for lockdown on thirteenth with PM – however admits there’s no proof for it .”
An ally of Hancock hit again: “Cummings isn’t a dependable witness and this tweet is fallacious.
“Matt known as Boris on thirteenth, argued for lockdown on 14th after which Boris invited Matt into the smaller assembly after Cummings had tried to exclude him.”