According to BBC journalist Nick Robinson, former UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock demonstrated “massive evidence of poor judgement” by sharing more than 100,000 WhatsApp messages with journalist Isabel Oakeshott.
The messages, which were released by Oakeshott, were exchanged between Hancock, other ministers, and officials during the height of the Covid pandemic.
Robinson said that Hancock knew Oakeshott’s views and that the former health secretary should be answering questions about why he chose to share the messages with her.
Lord Bethell, who was interviewed alongside Robinson on the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme, said it was understandable that Hancock didn’t want to comment on the matter, given that his confidence had been breached.
The leaked messages suggested that Hancock rejected advice to provide Covid tests to all residents in English care homes, but a spokesman for Hancock has denied this claim, calling it a “distorted account” being pushed to fit an anti-lockdown agenda.
Hancock’s spokesman said that the messages showed many people working hard to save lives during the pandemic, and that without lockdowns, half a million people would have died.
Hancock is said to be considering his options in response to the leak, while a source close to him has accused Oakeshott of breaking a non-disclosure agreement.
Oakeshott has defended her decision to release the messages, stating that the official Covid inquiry could take years and result in a “colossal whitewash”.
