Hancock feared care homes could ‘get in way’ of 100,000 testing target

Whatsapp messages reveal concern that checks on all staff and residents in Covid-hit facilities would jeopardise personal goal

‘This is ok so long as it does not get in the way of actually fulfilling the capacity in testing’

MATT HANCOCK expressed concerns that expanding testing in care homes could “get in the way” of his selfimposed target of 100,000 Covid tests per day, leaked messages show.

In a press conference on April 2 2020, the then health secretary staked his reputation on achieving the six-figure daily total by the end of that month.

The target figure would primarily consist of tests carried out by the NHS and Public Health England (PHE), those distributed by external companies including Amazon and testing centres operated by retailers including Boots.

However, a Whatsapp message sent towards the end of that month suggested that Mr Hancock was concerned that expanding testing of staff and residents in care homes would put his personal goal in jeopardy.

When advised to widen access to testing to include everyone in Covid-hit homes on April 24, Mr Hancock said this would be “OK” so long as it did not “get in the way of actually fulfilling the capacity in testing”.

The Daily Telegraph has also seen messages that suggest Mr Hancock artificially inflated the all-important figure for April 30 by sending out tens of thousands of tests knowing they might never be used.

Minutes before midnight on April 30, the chats recount how an Amazon truck loaded with more than 26,000 testing kits left its depot, enabling Mr Hancock to include them in his tally, even though he was aware that 80 per cent of them might not be returned.

The issue of testing people for Covid was one of the most contentious of the pandemic. In mid-march 2020, the World Health Organisation told countries infected with the virus to “test, test, test”, but the Government was accused of sluggishness in its response.

The week that Boris Johnson, the prime minister, announced a national lockdown, England was carrying out fewer than 13,000 tests per day, a quar

‘Having enough kits depends on getting a new supplier validated – it is v v tight’

Dominic Cummings alleged the ‘stupid’ target delayed the test and trace system

ter of the number being processed in Germany. At the start of April, Downing Street confirmed that only 2,000 frontline NHS workers, out of a total 500,000, had been tested. Mr Johnson and other ministers were being heavily criticised at daily televised press conferences over the perceived ineffectiveness of the testing regime.

As the deadline loomed, it seemed likely that Mr Hancock was going to fall short. By April 24, he was still way off his target, with 28,144 tests recorded that day across the UK, according to the Government’s coronavirus dashboard.

The previous day, he was sent a Whatsapp exchange between officials grappling with the challenge of getting tests to care homes for the elderly.

“We are already operating on the wire,” wrote one senior civil servant. “Having enough kits depends on getting a new supplier validated at the weekend – it is v v tight.”

While Mr Hancock put his reputation on the line with his self-imposed target,

Covid was ripping its way through care homes. Care staff lacked the quantities of protective equipment and tests required to shield vulnerable residents.

On April 24, a civil servant in Mr Hancock’s private office sent him a Whatsapp message passing on scientific advice that his department should “prioritise testing of asymptomatic staff and residents” in care homes where there had been a coronavirus outbreak. Mr Hancock responded: “This is ok so long as it does not get in the way of actually fulfilling the capacity in testing.” In the Whatsapp chat, the former health secretary did not expand on why care home testing might “get in the way”. But the logistical challenges of getting tests to care homes was acknowledged by the Government at the time, and Mr Hancock later claimed that when he asked for a list of homes in England “we did not have one”.

Dominic Cummings, formerly Boris Johnson’s most senior adviser, told a parliamentary committee in May 2021 that Mr Hancock instructed officials to “hold tests back” so that he could “go on television and say, ‘Look at me with my 100k target’”. He failed to produce any evidence to support the claim.

He alleged the “stupid” target delayed the introduction of the test and trace system, and even accused Mr Hancock of “criminal disgraceful behaviour that caused serious harm”.

In the event, Mr Hancock did approve the extra testing in care homes, which was announced on April 28, 2020.