Matt Hancock said he is "profoundly sorry" for every death caused by Covid-19
He's answering questions about how well prepared the UK was for a pandemic
Last updated 27th Jun 2023
Former health secretary Matt Hancock has been giving evidence to the coronavirus inquiry on how well prepared the UK was for a pandemic.
The West Suffolk MP has said he is "profoundly sorry" for every death caused by Covid-19.
Mr Hancock told the coronavirus inquiry he understood why some people would find it difficult to accept his apology though it was "honest and heartfelt".
In a response when questioned about pandemic planning, the MP said he struggled to talk about his feelings as he blamed "doctrine" for believing the UK had things under control.
He said doctrinal failures had "consequences" in areas such as "stockpiles, testing, antivirals, contact tracing, and much more widely" when the pandemic struck in 2020.
He added that having pandemic plans focusing on flu was not the central flaw.
"By not preparing to stop a pandemic, and worse by explicitly stating in the planning that it would not be possible to stop a pandemic, a huge amount of other things that need to happen when you're trying to stop a pandemic didn't happen, and we had to build them from scratch when the pandemic struck," he said.
"For instance, large-scale testing did not exist and large-scale contact tracing did not exist because it was assumed that as soon as there was community transmission, it wouldn't be possible to stop the spread, and therefore, what's the point in contact tracing?
"That was completely wrong."
Speaking about the lack of proper preparedness, he added: "I am profoundly sorry for the impact that it had, I'm profoundly sorry for each death that has occurred.
"And I also understand why, for some, it will be hard to take that apology from me.
"I understand that, I get it.
"But it is honest and heartfelt, and I'm not very good at talking about my emotions and how I feel.
"But that is honest and true.
"And all I can do is ensure that this inquiry gets to the bottom of it, and that for the future, we learn the right lessons, so that we stop a pandemic in its tracks much, much earlier.
"And that we have the systems in place ready to do that, because I'm worried that they're being dismantled as we speak."
Under questioning from Hugo Keith KC, lead counsel to the inquiry, Mr Hancock said the UK's attitude of planning for the consequences of a disaster was "completely wrong".
He tod the hearing: "The attitude, the doctrine of the UK was to plan for the consequences of a disaster.
"Can we buy enough body bags?
"Where are we going to bury the dead?
"And that was completely wrong.
"Of course, it's important to have that in case you fail to stop a pandemic, but central to pandemic planning needs to be - how do you stop the disaster from happening in the first place? How do you suppress the virus?"
Mr Hancock listed the issues the UK faced with PPE (personal protective equipment), tests, antivirals and vaccine preparedness.
Asked what civil servants had told him about different parts of the pandemic preparedness plan, he told the inquiry: "I was told that we have plans in these areas.
"So for instance, on stockpiles, I was told that we had a very significant stockpile of PPE. And we did.
"The problem was that it was extremely hard to get it out fast enough when the crisis hit.
"I was told that we were good at developing tests, and indeed we were.
"We developed a test in the first few days after the genetic code of Covid-19 was published.
"The problem was there was no plan in place to scale testing that we could execute.
"On antivirals, we had a stockpile of antivirals for a flu, but not for a coronavirus..."
The MP said he was told that the UK was one of the best-placed countries in the world at responding to a pandemic - which also "turned out to be wrong".
He said the World Health Organisation had also told the UK it was "the best place in the world" for preparedness.
He told Mr Keith that "you can understand that when you're assured by the leading global authority that the UK is the best prepared in the world, that is quite a significant reassurance. That turned out to be wrong".
Mr Hancock further told the inquiry the system was "geared towards how to clear up after a disaster, not prevent it" and this "flaw, that failure, went back years and years and was embedded in the entire system response."
Earlier, the inquiry heard there "isn't a day that goes by" when Mr Hancock does not think of those who died from coronavirus.
In written evidence to the inquiry, Mr Hancock said: "There isn't a day that goes by that I do not think about all those who lost their lives to this awful disease or the loved ones they have left behind.
"My office in Parliament overlooks the National Memorial Covid Wall.
"I have visited the wall and been able to read about many of the families affected.
"I express my deepest sympathies to all those affected."
Earlier, as the MP got out of a black Jaguar 4x4 outside the inquiry building in central London, widow Lorelei King, 69, held up pictures of her husband, Vincent Marzello, who died from coronavirus aged 72 in a care home in March 2020.
One poster featured an image of Mr Hancock with Ms King's husband and was captioned: "You shook my husband's hand for your photo op."
The other poster featured an image of her husband's coffin, with the caption: "This was my photo op after your 'ring of protection' around care homes."
Six members of the group Covid Families for Justice waited outside for Mr Hancock's arrival.
The widow of a Covid-19 victim has accused Matt Hancock of "blaming everyone else" and said: "I don't accept his apology."
Lorelei King's husband Vincent Marzello died of Covid-19 aged 72 in March 2020.
He suffered young onset dementia and lived in a care home, where he shook hands with the former health secretary when he visited the home in 2018.
Speaking outside the inquiry following Mr Hancock's testimony, Ms King, 69, from London, said: "Mr Hancock just seemed to be largely blaming everyone else.
"He kept trying to guide the conversation to areas he felt confident - he kept trying to bring it around to the vaccines, for example.
"I don't accept his apology. None of the bereaved that I'm with accept his apology."
The West Suffolk MP, who became one of the best-known politicians in the country as he worked to steer the coronavirus response before being forced to quit in June 2021, haa been giving evidence to Lady Hallett's inquiry throughout Tuesday morning.
His attendance comes after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, another former health secretary, admitted that "groupthink" meant the UK was not prepared for a pandemic beyond planning for a flu outbreak.
On Monday, former deputy chief medical officer Dame Jenny Harries was quizzed on the capacity of the UK health system as well as the organisational reforms before coronavirus spread.
Mr Hancock, also known for his appearance last year on TV's I'm A Celebrity, became health secretary in mid-2018, but his political career was torpedoed after footage emerged in 2021 of his embrace with aide Gina Coladangelo.
A leak of more than 100,000 of his WhatsApp messages by journalist Isabel Oakeshott to the Daily Telegraph, many of which were published earlier this year, provided a glimpse into the inner workings of Government during the pandemic.
Mr Hancock, who will stand down at the next general election, has faced questions in the past about Government policy on Covid testing and nursing homes.
Former prime minister David Cameron, former chancellor George Osborne and chief medical officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty are all among those who have appeared before the committee so far.