UK health chief’s leaked messages revive raw pandemic debate

LONDON — Coronavirus lockdowns have been lifted and face masks are few and far between in Britain these days. Hancock shared his WhatsApp messages with journalist Isabel Oakeshott as they worked on a book, “Pandemic Diaries.” Oakeshott, in turn, handed the messages to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, which has splashed them in a series of front-page stories. Steven Barnett, professor of journalism at the University of Westminster, said the Hancock leak was less about the public interest than “about driving an agenda that says the lockdown policies were wrong.” “As often happens in the U.K. with print journalism, we are getting an agenda being driven by a particular newspaper with a very clear view of what is right and what is wrong,” he said. “In fact, there was an idea at one moment that we might have to ask the public to exterminate all the cats in Britain.” Lindsay Jackson, spokesperson for the pressure group COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, said the leaks showed the importance of families being allowed to question Hancock and other officials during the public inquiry, “so we can get full answers to our questions in the right setting instead of having to relive the horrors of our loss through exposés.” The revelations are the latest setback for Hancock, who was forced to resign from the Conservative government in June 2021 after breaching coronavirus lockdown rules by having an affair with an aide — violating a ban on different households mixing. He remains a lawmaker, but was suspended by the Conservative Party in November for flying to Australia for several weeks to appear on television reality show “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here.” Hancock apologized Thursday for the impact of the leaks “on the very many people — political colleagues, civil servants and friends — who worked hard with me to get through the pandemic and save lives.” “I will not be commenting further on any other stories or false allegations that Isabel will make,” he said in a statement.