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The behavior of individual British government members has repeatedly caused irritation during the corona pandemic. For example, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson (58) celebrated parties with employees in Downing Street, despite the corona restrictions he imposed.
The then Minister of Health, Matt Hancock (44), also sweated when images from a security camera showed that he was having an affair with an employee. The two were filmed kissing passionately in Hancock’s office, despite social distancing rules in place at the time.
Now the “Daily Telegraph” has upped the ante with the “lockdown files”. The newspaper evaluated more than 100,000 private WhatsApp messages from Hancock. They impressively show how decisions about corona restrictions were made in the British power apparatus at the time.
Hancock’s ghostwriter leaked chats to the press
The case is particularly bitter for Hancock. Because the newspaper only got to the chat histories thanks to the ghostwriter of his book “Pandemic Diaries”. Isabel Oakeshott (48), who co-wrote the book with Hancock and received insight into his communication history from the minister, made the messages from internal government Whatsapp groups available to the “Daily Telegraph”. She stabbed Hancock in the back and broke a non-disclosure agreement.
The “lockdown files” provide explosive material. Countless measures such as contact restrictions or the obligation to wear masks in schools were taken by civil servants and ministers, sometimes on a meager scientific basis or for purely political reasons.
A minister openly admits that there is no “robust logic” to limit maximum social contacts to six people including children. Yet that was exactly what was decided a little later. The same with the obligation to wear a face mask. According to government scientific advisers, there were no clear arguments for or against wearing masks in schools at the time.
Boris Johnson eventually ordered the measure anyway. Apparently he would only have done this because Scottish regional president Nicola Sturgeon (52) had already decided on him and he did not want to stand alone.
Authorities must act with a firm hand.
To ensure that the population actually complies with the rules, the government has set up strict control mechanisms. According to Hancock, authorities should deal with violations with a “hard hand”. According to chat histories, the bigwigs in the British government seemed delighted when an English couple returning from Dubai were subsequently fined £20,000 (22,500 francs). “Great,” Boris Johnson replied to the message.
The quarantine hotels that had to deny travelers from certain countries entry to the UK also caused laughter. “How many have we locked up today?” asked Johnson’s secretary, Simon Case.
However, the decision-makers did not seem to take very seriously the limitations they had imposed on themselves. Johnson’s parties at the seat of government last summer cost him his office. Hancock was also forced to resign after the embarrassing revelation of his affair. His participation in the British version of the “jungle camp” recently showed how far he has fallen. (ceded)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
