Matt Hancock has furiously attacked a “crazy proposal” presented to him by ministers that would allow 20,000 non-violent prisoners to be released during the Covid lockdown as part of his new explosive diaries. ‘Pandemic Diaries’ is the long-awaited book from the former health minister, chronicling the drama, feuds, failures and triumphs of the government’s intense struggle for the coronavirus crisis that had tens of millions of people on red alert.
Mr Hancock served as Health Minister in Boris Johnson’s government during the pandemic and has been at the center of a series of crucial decisions including lockdowns, travel restrictions and the procurement and rollout of the world’s first Covid vaccine.
In his book, which appears exclusively in the Daily Mail from tomorrow, the West Suffolk MP says he was “in the hot seat” during the fastest-moving and most intense crisis “in human history”.
He writes, “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished, especially on the vaccine front. But there’s a lot to learn for the next public health crisis of this kind, which I’m sure will happen in my lifetime.”
The diaries of the former health minister chronicle extraordinary conversations at the heart of the government during the Covid pandemic.
In an extraordinary claim, Mr Hancock says, with the first lockdown looming in March 2020, he was pressured to sign the release of thousands of prisoners to prevent them from contracting the virus in prison.
In his entry for March 17, he writes: “An insane Justice Department proposal to release prisoners because they are easier to manage when they are not in prison. Yes, really: they actually thought this might be a go-getter.
“I emphasized [my opposition] so hard that my chair suddenly couldn’t handle the tension and tore, causing me to fall unceremoniously to the floor.”
Despite this strong opposition from the then health minister, he claimed officials continued to push the plan to be signed for another two weeks.
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“We can’t literally lock up everyone in the country except prisoners, who we release instead, I stuttered.”
But a source in Whitehall has disputed Mr Hancock’s claim that he led the opposition to the release of thousands of non-violent prisoners during the Covid lockdown.
The insider said both Boris Johnson and Robert Buckland opposed pressure from Public Health England to release 20,000 prisoners.
They added: “The idea that Hancock was the main resistance to this is simply not true. Buckland was against it from the start, as was the Prime Minister.
“And it was the Prime Minister who made the comment about not releasing prisoners while we lock up everyone else. It was madness.”
In the end, only 140 “low-risk” prisoners were released early to avoid overcrowding in prisons across the country.