Matt Hancock was involved in a behind-the-scenes clash with then-education secretary Sir Gavin Williamson over moves to keep classrooms open during the Covid pandemic, leaked messages reportedly reveal.
WhatsApp messages it has obtained reveal Mr Hancock mounted a “rearguard action” to close schools despite Sir Gavin fighting “tooth and nail” to keep them open.
After initially losing the argument in a Cabinet meeting, Mr Hancock reportedly told an aide: “The next U-turn is born” and added: “I want to find a way, Gavin having won the day, of actually preventing a policy car crash when the kids spread the disease in January. And for that we must now fight a rearguard action.
In an article for outlet, Sir Gavin revealed that he considered resigning over the decision to close schools.“Looking back now, I wonder whether I should have resigned at that point," he wrote. "I certainly thought long and deeply over whether I should have gone then. I just felt so personally upset about it.”
Mr Hancock expressed concerns that expanding care home testing could "get in the way" of the target of 100,000 daily coronavirus tests he was desperate to hit, the investigation said. "The Telegraph have been informed that their headline is wrong, and Matt is considering all options available to him.
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