MINISTER FOR HYPOCRISY
Bereaved families who couldn’t hug at funerals lead calls for his head
A FEROCIOUS backlash was swelling against Matt Hancock last night due to his astonishing hypocrisy over the social distancing rules he told the nation to follow.
Bereaved families of coronavirus victims pointed out that many had been denied the chance to hug relatives at funerals, or loved ones in care homes, under rules the Health Secretary insisted were necessary.
Last night, they wrote a letter of protest to the Government over the decision to keep Mr Hancock in post, labelling him ‘an embarrassment’.
Business chiefs also said it appeared to be ‘one rule for them and another for everybody else’ when it came to ministers, while thousands of livelihoods had been threatened by Covid restrictions.
And Tory MPs stepped up calls for a permanent end to the lockdown restrictions, saying it was time for the ‘authoritarian nonsense’ from Mr Hancock’s department to cease.
Mr Hancock has been a harsh critic of public figures who broke lockdown rules, including backing police action against Professor Neil Ferguson for seeing his girlfriend.
He also told the public last year they should only have sex when in ‘established relationships’.
And earlier this year, he insisted that the public follow strict rules banning indoor gatherings – at the same time as he was conducting an affair with Gina Coladangelo.
Hannah Brady, a spokesman for the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign, said: ‘He’s got to go and he should have gone a long time ago.’ She went on: ‘Up and down the country, bereaved families have been doing everything they can to follow the rules and prevent further loss of life.
‘But it’s clear Matt Hancock thought that “hands, face, space” was a rule for everyone else.
‘For bereaved families to know that the man responsible for public health in this country was ignoring the rules, whilst we were unable to hug friends and family at our loved ones’ funerals, is heartbreaking.’
Mike Roberts, whose Go Travel firm went bust last year because of the pandemic, said: ‘It’s definitely double standards.’
Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership, the UK’s largest independent travel agent partnership, said: ‘One rule for them and another for everybody else certainly seems to apply quite a lot this week.’
Many Tory MPs were also left angered last night. Although Conservative colleagues said they were not judging the father-of-three over his extra-marital relationship, several said the breach of his own regulations strengthened the case for restrictions to end now.
MP Marcus Fysh wrote online: ‘Time to end all of the authoritarian nonsense promulgated by the Department of Health.’
One anti-lockdown MP said: ‘You’ve got to be thinking very carefully when you restrict people’s freedoms and do it for as short a time as possible.’
Tory colleague Peter Bone added: ‘If he is going to stay then I hope he will now lift these rules which have gone on for far too long.’
Mr Hancock’s behaviour was said to have been ‘so hypocritical’ at a time when others in society have ‘missed out in so many ways’.
Another Tory admitted: ‘The Government is looking ridiculous now, I am sorry to say.’
Scientists warned it would likely lead to more people breaking the rules, as had happened last year after No10 aide Dominic Cummings drove the length of the country when he had Covid.
Dr Elise Paul, an investigator on University College London’s Covid19 social study, said: ‘The impact on public confidence may be just as bad or worse than that of the Cummings situation.’
And London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: ‘It makes it far more difficult for people to have confidence in people in positions of power and influence when these sorts of allegations are being made.’
‘It’s definitely double standards’