The Telegraph has published revelations based on more than 100,000 leaked WhatsApp messages from Matt Hancock, the former health secretary, and other ministers and officials.
The Lockdown Files show the nature of government during the Covid pandemic and how, despite public claims to always “follow the science”, key decisions were made on the fly for political reasons.
They call into question much of the reasoning for months of national lockdowns and other restrictions on daily life in Britain, including social distancing, face masks and the closure of schools.
Here are ten things The Lockdown Files have revealed so far:
Matt Hancock was advised to test all care home residents
The Telegraph’s first revelation from the files was that Mr Hancock was advised early in the pandemic that he should test all people admitted to care homes, regardless of whether they had been discharged from hospital or brought in from the community.
Care homes bore the brunt of Britain’s death toll, with more than 40,000 people catching and dying of the virus.
The WhatsApp messages show that in April 2020, Mr Hancock was advised by Sir Chris Whitty, England’s Chief Medical Officer, that ministers should mandate testing for “all going into care homes”.
But Mr Hancock did not follow that guidance, telling his advisers that it “muddies the waters”. The former health secretary denies rejecting Sir Chris’s advice and says the testing capacity was not available at that time.
Sir Gavin Williamson said teachers ‘really do just hate work’
Sir Gavin Williamson said education unions “really do just hate work” as he discussed reopening schools with Mr Hancock.
The former education secretary first made critical comments in a discussion with the then health secretary as school staff prepared for the reopening of classes in May 2020.
By this point, schools had been effectively shut for two months, with only vulnerable children and those whose parents were key workers allowed to attend in person. Ministers and teachers were planning for lessons to begin returning in June.
Writing about his disputes with Mr Hancock on reopening schools, Mr Williamson said that “getting people’s attention seemed to have been prioritised over putting children’s interests first”.
Simon Case mocked travellers forced to isolate in quarantine hotels
Britain’s most senior civil servant mocked members of the public who were forced to isolate in quarantine hotels.
Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, said it was “hilarious” that 149 people had been told to stay in government-approved hotels on their return from Red List countries in 2021.
He also joked about passengers being “locked up” in “shoe box” rooms. Those on the receiving end of the quarantine policy at the time said it was like being “in Guantanamo Bay”.
Public opinion shaped Boris Johnson’s calls on lockdown
Key lockdown decisions were informed by polling and media advisers rather than scientific advice alone.
In June 2020, for example, Boris Johnson, the then prime minister, considered ending some lockdown restrictions early, but dropped the idea after “Slackie and Lee” said it was “too far ahead of public opinion”.
The messages also reveal that Dominic Cummings deployed a Conservative election strategist to reassure hawkish Cabinet ministers that lockdown measures were popular with the public.
Isaac Levido, who worked on the 2019 Conservative election campaign, was instructed to present polling to ministers showing that more than half of Tory voters supported restrictions.
PM discovered second lockdown was based on ‘very wrong’ data
Mr Johnson was worried that he had “blinked too soon” in plunging Britain into a second national lockdown on the basis of data that scientists had warned him was “very wrong”.
He made the observation on Nov 1, 2020 – a day after he had announced a lockdown to come into force on Nov 4. Despite his fears, the lockdown went ahead and lasted for a month.
In one exchange, on Nov 1, 2020, Mr Johnson explained that he had been on a video conference call with scientists Dr Raghib Ali and Dr Carl Heneghan.
He told the WhatsApp group that Dr Heneghan said “the death modelling you have been shown is already very wrong”, as it was out of date having been drawn up three weeks previously.
Face masks introduced in English schools to avoid ‘argument’ with Nicola Sturgeon
Face masks were introduced in secondary schools in England for the first time after Mr Johnson was told it was “not worth an argument” with Nicola Sturgeon over the issue, the Lockdown Files reveal.
He went ahead with the policy despite England’s Chief Medical Officer saying there were “no very strong reasons” to do so. It was one of the most controversial of the pandemic and was not finally ended in England until January 2022 – 16 months later.
In WhatsApp messages, Sir Chris appeared ambivalent when asked for his opinion. He said: “No strong reason against in corridors etc, and no very strong reasons for,” adding: “So agree not worth an argument.”
Advisers discussed ‘locking up’ Nigel Farage
Mr Hancock’s team asked if they could “lock up” Nigel Farage after he tweeted a video of himself at a pub in Kent, WhatsApp messages have revealed.
Mr Farage had posted a photo of him drinking in a pub after returning from America in an apparent breach of the quarantine rules.
Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, at the time one of Mr Hancock’s aides, replied: “Does he count as a pub hooligan? Can we lock him up?”
Read Mr Farage’s response to the story in a Telegraph article here.
‘Rule of Six’ introduced for under-12s despite ‘no robust rationale’
The Government knew there was no “robust rationale” for including children in the “rule of six”, but backed the controversial policy anyway.
Helen Whately, the minister for adult social care, told Mr Hancock on Oct 11, 2020, that she wanted to “loosen on children under 12” in Tier 1 as “it would make such a difference to families and there isn’t a robust rationale for it”.
Mr Hancock, who was then health secretary, did not oppose Mr Whately’s view but instead informed her that Downing Street “don’t want to go there on this… as in No 10. Also on curfew – they don’t want to shift an inch”.
Care homes refused to test staff they feared had Covid
Care homes refused to test staff for Covid at the height of the pandemic in case they discovered they were positive.
Nearly 100 care homes offered tests said they did not want them, according to WhatsApp messages sent between Ms Whately and Mr Hancock.
They included 10 homes in the north of England where, according to the messages, the local director of public health was “worried testing will reveal too many asymptomatic staff”.
Hancock asked George Osborne for coverage to help hit testing target
Mr Hancock messaged George Osborne, his old mentor, to ask for a front-page story in the London Evening Standard to help him hit his testing target.
The former health secretary, who had set a target of 100,000 testing capacity by the end of April, had been Mr Osborne’s chief of staff when the latter was shadow chancellor and was in regular contact with him during the pandemic.
