Hunt denies supporting Chinese-style lockdown to curb Covid

JEREMY HUNT last night furiously denied claims by Conservative colleagues that he is a ‘lockdown fanatic’ who supported the draconian Chinese policy of ‘zero Covid’.

One Tory MP claimed to The Mail on Sunday that the former Health Secretary – who is planning a leadership bid if Boris Johnson is ousted – had backed an extreme lockdown during the pandemic, including the forced use of isolation hotels for people who tested positive.

But last night a source close to Mr Hunt, who also served as Foreign Secretary, said his words had been ‘twisted’ by his critics in the party.

The Tory MP who made the claims said Mr Hunt, whose wife is Chinese, had spoken approvingly of Beijing’s approach during the first wave of the pandemic in summer 2020. ‘He said that he had heard about the Chinese approach first-hand, through his wife’s family, and thought that they had the right idea,’ the MP said.

In Wuhan, where the virus first started to spread at the end of 2019, anyone who came into contact with infected people was forced to stay in isolation hotels. China is still pursuing its policy of ‘dynamic zero Covid’ and tensions have been rising in Shanghai, where suspected Covid-positive patients are being forcibly quarantined.

Last night the source close to Mr Hunt said: ‘Jeremy thinks the Chinese zero Covid approach is totally wrong, disproportionate and inhumane. He believes we need to live with Covid through mass vaccination.’

‘He said he thought they had right idea’