Jacob Rees-Mogg has admitted that his son received a Covid-19 test during a national shortage, which may be seen as “special treatment”. This was revealed by leaked WhatsApp messages from former Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s adviser, Allan Nixon. The messages suggest that the test was couriered to the Rees-Mogg family home in September 2020.
In response to the allegations, Rees-Mogg said that one of his children needed the test and it was arranged by the Department of Health. He defended the arrangement, saying it allowed him to get back to work as a cabinet minister. Labour has called on the government to determine whether Rees-Mogg received special treatment and not to “hide” behind the Covid inquiry. The Liberal Democrats have written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to ask what he knew about ministers having access to priority testing.
At the same time, Sarah Marsh, director of testing at NHS Test and Trace, apologised for the lack of tests available to the public. Media reports said government testing laboratories were facing a backlog of 185,000 Covid tests. Mr Hancock admitted there were “operational challenges” related to a surge in demand.
The BBC has not seen or verified the WhatsApp messages nor the context in which they were sent. Mr Hancock’s spokesperson said the Telegraph had published “partial leaks” that presented a “distorted account of the pandemic”. They said the messages had been made available to the public inquiry into the government’s response to the pandemic.
Jacob Rees-Mogg has admitted that his son received a Covid-19 test during a national shortage, which may have been seen as “special treatment”. This was revealed by leaked WhatsApp messages from former Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s adviser, Allan Nixon. The messages suggest that the test was couriered to the Rees-Mogg family home in September 2020.
Rees-Mogg said that one of his children needed the test and it was arranged by the Department of Health. He defended the arrangement, saying it allowed him to get back to work as a cabinet minister. Labour has called on the government to determine whether Rees-Mogg received special treatment and not to “hide” behind the Covid inquiry. The Liberal Democrats have written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to ask what he knew about ministers having access to priority testing.
At the same time, Sarah Marsh, director of testing at NHS Test and Trace, apologised for the lack of tests available to the public. Media reports said government testing laboratories were facing a backlog of 185,000 Covid tests. Mr Hancock admitted there were “operational challenges” related to a surge in demand.
The BBC has not seen or verified the WhatsApp messages nor the context in which they were sent. Mr Hancock’s spokesperson said the Telegraph had published “partial leaks” that presented a “distorted account of the pandemic”. They said the messages had been made available to the public inquiry into the government’s response to the pandemic.
The government must now publish how many Conservative ministers, MPs and their families had access to priority testing when the public faced a national test shortage. The public deserves to know the truth and have clarity and transparency on these issues. The inquiry is necessary for these matters to be looked at properly, however, it is important that this information is not hidden from the public.
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted many issues with regards to access to testing and special treatment for certain individuals. It is essential that these matters are addressed in order for us to be better prepared for future pandemics.