Matt Hancock has rejected Dominic Cummings’ withering attack on his handling of coronavirus after Boris Johnson’s former aide said the health secretary should have been fired for lying and other derelictions of duty.
Mr Hancock “worked incredibly hard in unprecedented circumstances to protect the NHS and save lives”, a spokesperson said. Reached outside his north London home later on Wednesday, the health secretary said he had not seen Mr Cummings’ “performance” in full, and would say more in an address to the House of Commons tomorrow.
Earlier, Mr Cummings also told MPs that he heard Mr Johnson say he would rather see “bodies pile high” than impose another Covid-19 lockdown on the nation.
The former No 10 aide said during a Commons committee hearing that Mr Johnson made the comment “in the PM’s study ... on 31 October”. Mr Johnson last month denied having made the remark when he was confronted by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer during prime minister’s questions.
