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This Is Why

‘Wish I’d acted earlier’: Matt Hancock’s defence at the COVID inquiry

This Is Why

Sky News

News Commentary, Daily News, News

4.0552 Ratings

🗓️ 30 November 2023

⏱️ 28 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Matt Hancock took the stand at the COVID inquiry for the first of two days of giving evidence on Thursday.

In 2021, the then health secretary was forced to resign after he admitted he broke the government's own coronavirus guidance to pursue an affair with an aide.

On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson analyses what Mr Hancock said and the key questions he answered, with our political editor Beth Rigby.

Producer: Soila Apparicio
Promotions producer: David Chipakupaku
Editor: Philly Beaumont

Transcript

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to find out how. I'm Neil Patterson. Welcome to the Sky News Daily. The former Deputy Cabinet

1:06.1

Secretary Helen McNamara said that he had nuclear levels of confidence, albeit utterly misplaced.

1:12.9

Patrick Valence, the former Chief Scientific Advisor, said that he had a habit of saying things that

1:18.2

were untrue. Dominic Cummings, the former Downing Street Chief of Staff and Barnard Castle

1:22.6

of Fissionado, said that he was a proven liar and a in a cabinet of pugs. The man we talking about is of course Matt Hancock. He has been up in front of the COVID inquiry today. I apologise in advance if there was an awful lot of rustling because there was an awful lot of information that came out. To pick over it with me, our political editor Beth Rigby. I think you're going to have to scrap all of that intro,

1:45.0

with all that swearing.

1:47.0

You pick the spiciest descriptions by Dominic Cummings of Matt Hancock,

1:52.0

which I think reflects quite well the little love lost between this pair.

1:56.0

We certainly will, and thank goodness for the bleep button.

1:59.0

But let's start with...

2:00.0

Actually, let's start with, actually let's start

2:01.0

where Hugo Keith Casey, the council inquiry began today. And it was with the level of

...

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