Matthew Hancock, the former Health Secretary of the UK, has been at the center of controversy since the leak of his WhatsApp messages during the Covid-19 pandemic. The journalist behind the leak, Isabel Oakeshott, has revealed that she did not give Mr Hancock advance notice of the leak, and that he sent her a “menacing message” after their publication.
A spokesperson for Mr Hancock declined to comment, but in a previous statement, his spokesperson said the Daily Telegraph had published “partial leaks” that presented a “distorted account of the pandemic” to “fit an anti-lockdown agenda”. The spokesperson also said that the messages had been made available to the official public inquiry into the government’s response to the pandemic.
The Telegraph has been handed more than 100,000 WhatsApp messages linked to Mr Hancock’s time as health secretary at the height of the pandemic. Ms Oakeshott was given copies of the texts while helping Mr Hancock write his book, Pandemic Diaries.
Ms Oakeshott appeared on TalkTV to discuss her decision to leak the messages with presenter Piers Morgan. She revealed that she had signed a non-disclosure agreement, but had broken it in the public interest. She also said that she had received a “menacing message” from Mr Hancock after publication.
The publication of the messages has caused shockwaves through the political establishment as the public inquiry into the pandemic picks up pace. At Prime Minister’s Questions, Rishi Sunak defended the public inquiry as the “right way” to scrutinise the handling of the pandemic and urged people not to focus on “piecemeal bits of information”.
Mr Hancock has already given a partial account of his time as health secretary, with the help of Ms Oakeshott, in his book, Pandemic Diaries. Last year, he resigned as health secretary over breaching social distancing guidance by kissing a colleague and announced he would not be standing as an MP at the next general election. He also faced criticism for joining the reality TV show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
The leak of Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages during the Covid-19 pandemic has sparked controversy and raised questions about his handling of the crisis. Isabel Oakeshott, the journalist behind the leak, has revealed that she did not give Mr Hancock advance notice and that he sent her a “menacing message” after their publication.
A spokesperson for Mr Hancock declined to comment on the matter, but in a previous statement, his spokesperson said that the Daily Telegraph had published “partial leaks” that presented a “distorted account of the pandemic” to “fit an anti-lockdown agenda”. The spokesperson also said that the messages had been made available to the official public inquiry into the government’s response to the pandemic.
Ms Oakeshott appeared on TalkTV to discuss her decision to leak the messages with presenter Piers Morgan. She revealed that she had signed a non-disclosure agreement, but had broken it in the public interest. She also said that she had received a “menacing message” from Mr Hancock after publication.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Rishi Sunak defended the public inquiry as the “right way” to scrutinise the handling of the pandemic and urged people not to focus on “piecemeal bits of information”. Mr Hancock has already given a partial account of his time as health secretary in his book, Pandemic Diaries. Last year, he resigned as health secretary over breaching social distancing guidance by kissing a colleague and announced he would not be standing as an MP at the next general election. He also faced criticism for joining the reality TV show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
The leak of Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages during the Covid-19 pandemic has raised questions about his handling of the crisis and sparked controversy. Isabel Oakeshott, who was given copies of the texts while helping Mr Hancock write his book, revealed that she did not give him advance notice and that he sent her a “menacing message” after their publication. A spokesperson for Mr Hancock declined to comment on the matter, but in a previous statement, his spokesperson said that the Daily Telegraph had published “partial leaks” that presented a “distorted account of the pandemic” to “fit an anti-lockdown agenda”.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Rishi Sunak defended the public inquiry as the “right way” to scrutinise the handling of the pandemic and urged people not to focus on “piecemeal bits of information”. Ms Oakeshott appeared on TalkTV to discuss her decision to leak the messages with presenter Piers Morgan and revealed that she had signed a non-disclosure agreement, but had broken it in the public interest. Mr Hancock has already given a partial account of his time as health secretary in his book, Pandemic Diaries. Last year, he resigned as health secretary over breaching social distancing guidance by kissing a colleague and announced he would not be standing as an MP at the next general election. He also faced criticism for joining the reality TV show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
The leak of Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages during the Covid-19 pandemic has caused shockwaves through the political establishment and raised questions about his handling of the crisis. Isabel Oakeshott revealed that she did not give Mr Hancock advance notice and that he sent her a “menacing message” after their publication. A spokesperson for Mr Hancock declined to comment on the matter, but in a previous statement, his spokesperson said that the Daily Telegraph had published “partial leaks” that presented a “distorted account of the pandemic” to “fit an anti-lockdown agenda”.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Rishi Sunak defended the public inquiry as the “right way” to scrutinise the handling of the pandemic and urged people not to focus on “piecemeal bits of information”. Ms Oakeshott appeared on TalkTV to discuss her decision to leak the messages with presenter Piers Morgan and revealed that she had signed a non-disclosure agreement, but had broken it in the public interest. Mr Hancock has already given a partial account of his time as health secretary in his book, Pandemic Diaries. Last year, he resigned as health secretary over breaching social distancing guidance by kissing a colleague and announced he would not be standing as an MP at the next general election. He also faced criticism for joining the reality TV show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
The leak of Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages during the Covid-19 pandemic has caused shockwaves through the political establishment and raised questions about his handling of the crisis. Isabel Oakeshott revealed that she did not give Mr Hancock advance notice and that he sent her a “menacing message” after their publication. A spokesperson for Mr Hancock declined to comment on the matter, but in a previous statement, his spokesperson said that the Daily Telegraph had published “partial leaks” that presented a “distorted account of the pandemic” to “fit an anti-lockdown agenda”.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Rishi Sunak defended the public inquiry as the “right way” to scrutinise the handling of the pandemic and urged people not to focus on “piecemeal bits of information”. Ms Oakeshott appeared on TalkTV to discuss her decision to leak the messages with presenter Piers Morgan and revealed that she had signed a non-disclosure agreement, but had broken it in the public interest. Mr Hancock has already given a partial account of his time as health secretary in his book, Pandemic Diaries. Last year, he resigned as health secretary over breaching social distancing guidance by kissing a colleague and announced he would not be standing as an MP at the next general election. He also faced criticism for joining reality TV show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
The leak of Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages during Covid-19 has caused shockwaves through politics and raised questions about his handling of the pandemic. Isabel Oakeshott revealed that she did not give Mr Hancock advance notice and that he sent her a “menacing message” after their publication. A spokesperson for Mr Hancock declined to comment on this matter, but in a previous statement said that The Daily Telegraph had published “partial leaks” which presented a distorted view of events in order to fit an anti-lockdown agenda.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Rishi Sunak defended an official public inquiry into government’s response to Covid-19 as being necessary for proper scrutiny and urged people not to focus on individual pieces of information. Ms Oakeshott appeared on TalkTV and admitted breaking her non-disclosure agreement in order to publish what she believed was in public interest. Mr Hancock has already given an account of his time as Health Secretary in his book Pandemic Diaries and last year resigned from office after breaching social distancing guidelines by kissing a colleague. He also faced criticism for joining reality TV show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!