Cummings was the lockdown ‘Chatty Rat’, say Hancock diaries

Former health secretary’s new book takes lid off tensions and vendettas in Johnson’s Covid Cabinet

MATT HANCOCK last night accused Dominic Cummings of being the “Chatty Rat” who leaked details of a second lockdown before they were announced.

An inquiry into the leak was ordered immediately by a furious Boris Johnson as the disclosure bounced him into holding a televised news conference, but the source has never been found.

Mr Hancock appears to pin the blame squarely on Mr Cummings, Mr Johnson’s former chief adviser, in the latest extract from his book, The Pandemic Diaries. The former health secretary recalls receiving a text message from Robert Peston, the ITV political editor, on Oct 30 while at a curry restaurant in his West Suffolk constituency with his family.

“I almost choked on my chapati,” Mr Hancock wrote, claiming the text read: “I understand that this pm you, PM, Chancellor and [Michael Gove] met. Am told 99 per cent likely there will be a full national lockdown from next Wed or Thurs.”

“So the cat is out of the bag – already! Furious, I forwarded the message to my [special advisers] and No10 comms. How the f--- had it leaked already? “Only a handful of people knew! “By the time I got home, I had an enraged Boris on the phone saying his media people had told him hacks were pointing the finger at me.

“‘Whoever is telling you that is lying to you,’ I replied furiously. How had this happened? My money is firmly on Dominic Cummings, via his acolytes. The agenda? To bounce the PM into announcing the lockdown sooner rather than later and stop him U-turning.” Britain’s second lockdown intended as a “circuit-breaker” – was announced the following day, on Oct 31. Mr Hancock urged Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, to hold a full inquiry into the leak and claimed that Mr Cummings would have regarded his sacking as “a bonus”.

He claimed he was “elated, and more than anything, relieved” when Mr Cummings, who was contacted for comment, left his Downing Street role two weeks later. There has been no shortage of bad blood between the two men. In May 2021, Mr Cummings said Mr Hancock should have been fired between 15 to 20 times over allegations he said included “lying to everybody”.

Elsewhere in the book, Mr Hancock claims he felt pressured by “extraordinarily aggressive” attempts by Baroness Mone to try to help a firm win a Covid lateral flow test contract. The Tory peer

‘By the time I got home I had an enraged Boris on the phone saying hacks were ponting finger at me’

has been accused of lobbying ministers on behalf of PPE Medpro, which supplies face masks and medical gowns. She is currently under investigation by the Lords Commissioners for Standards after allegedly failing to declare an interest in the company, which won a £200million contract mid-pandemic.

Mr Hancock wrote of his correspondence with the Baroness: “By the end of the message, she seemed to have worked herself into a complete frenzy and was throwing around wild accusations ... I read [her] message again, stunned. Was she threatening me? It certainly looked that way.”

Last night, it also emerged that Baroness Mone was urged by Lord Bethell to show “propriety” in her dealings with government staff. She has categorically denied benefiting financially and has said she was “not connected to PPE Medpro in any capacity”. Her office was contacted for comment.