BRITAIN-HEALTH-VIRUS-POLITICS
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)Matt Hancock fought back tears as he told MPs that his step-grandfather had died after contracting Covid-19 in Liverpool.
The Health Secretary was speaking in the House of Commons ahead of a vote on the Government’s tougher Tier system of restrictions
The new arrangements will come into force on Wednesday, putting 99 per cent of England in the toughest Tier 2 and Tier 3 restrictions.
Mr Hancock made an emotional appeal to rebels in his own party, citing the loss of his own step-grandfather to the virus.
“In my family, as in so many others, we’ve lost a loving husband, a father, a grandfather to this awful disease,” he said.
“So from the bottom of my heart I want to say thank you to everyone in Liverpool for getting this awful virus under control.
“It’s down by four-fifths in Liverpool, that’s what we can do if we work together in a spirit of common humanity. We’ve got to beat this, we’ve got to beat it together.”
Mr Hancock said his step-grandfather died on November 18.
