PRESS RELEASE – 1 MARCH 2023 – PRESS STATEMENT ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE ‘SCOTTISH COVID BEREAVED’ IN RESPONSE TO LEAKING OF MATT HANCOCK 100,000 WHATSAPP MESSAGES

PRESS STATEMENT ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE ‘SCOTTISH COVID BEREAVED’ IN RESPONSE TO LEAKING OF MATT HANCOCK 100,000 WHATSAPP MESSAGES

Statement by Aamer Anwar- Solicitor on behalf of the family group as we appear this morning at Module 2 Preliminary Hearing at the UK Covid Inquiry

“The ‘Scottish Covid Bereaved’ group we represent at both the UK and Scottish Public inquiries were told they could be waiting several years before proceedings are concluded and to place their faith in their ability to deliver robust inquiries that will deliver answers and lessons on the handling of the pandemic.

Shockingly last night over 100,000 WhatsApp messages of the former Health Secretary Matt Hancock containing over 2.3 million words were leaked by the Daily Telegraph.

If what is contained within those texts is correct, it shows that Ministers of the State at the highest level were making decisions on handling the pandemic via WhatsApp. Ministers of course would have known that such messages cannot be requested by FOIs.

Some of the allegations contained in the Daily Telegraph are deeply horrifying and upsetting for the families we represent- Some of the allegations claim that testing of all those entering care homes, despite strong advice to do so by the Chief Medical Officer was ignored on the mantle of meeting testing targets- If true that would mean that the lives of thousands in care homes were considered ‘expendable’.

We are aware that an army of lawyers has been going through the process of redacting names from hundreds of thousands of pages as is the norm in public inquiries; but as lawyers we along with our clients have had to sign undertakings to protect the confidentiality of hundreds of thousands of pages of Government disclosure; Meanwhile it would appear a former Health Minister provided the entire contents of over 100,000 of his messages that contain critical decision making detail during the pandemic to his biographer.

The PM, former PM, cabinet ministers, Chief Medical Officers, Scientific Advisors, senior civil servants, Newspaper Editors, Dominic Cummings and even Tony Blair can be found engaging in the ‘to and fro’ of these messages with Matt Hancock.

Today at the preliminary hearing of the UK Covid Inquiry, we asked Baroness Hallett the Chair, whether those WhatsApp texts have been released to the Public Inquiry, anything less than full disclosure by Mr. Hancock, would be considered as an attack on the integrity of both the UK and Scottish Public Inquiries by the Scottish Covid Bereaved.

It is clear from last night’s revelations that Cabinet Office were privy to the material released by Mr. Hancock to his biographer, and that they had the right to veto for his ‘pandemic diaries’, therefore the question that must be asked is whether such crucial material has been released to the Public Inquiry without redactions.

It would be deeply insulting to the families if they have to read redacted material from the Inquiry, or only had limited access to the messages, whilst such material is leaked in full on a daily basis through the media.

In the prologue to his ‘Pandemic Diaries’ Mr. Hancock claimed he disclosed all his records to this UK Covid Inquiry. Those families instructing Aamer Anwar & Co., are this morning asking the UK Inquiry to investigate whether all his WhatsApp messages have been disclosed to the Inquiry and if they have not, to demand immediate and full disclosure.

Matt Hancock already stands accused of profiteering from the misery of grieving families by publishing his Pandemic Diaries and attempting to rewrite history. Mr. Hancock’s actions make a mockery of due process set up by his Government to investigate the handling of the Pandemic. Those Ministers whose reputations are left in tatters following the leak of WhatsApp cannot be allowed to rewrite history and they must disclose all the messages that they engaged in on any social media platform with the purpose of avoiding scrutiny.

No individual, no matter how powerful can be allowed to interfere with the pursuit of truth, justice, and accountability by this Inquiry, those who lost their lives to Covid-19 deserve nothing less. The families we represent will very much welcome Baroness Hallett’s positive response to our submissions and her recognition of the impact on the bereaved on seeing such messages disclosed in this manner.”

Baroness Hallett responded to our submissions at the preliminary hearing today in the following terms:

“I can only imagine the impact on the bereaved seeing the WhatsApp messages being disclosed without any kind of notice. As you know it had nothing to do with this Inquiry.

What I can do is assure the bereaved that this Inquiry will make every possible effort to ensure that we have investigated all the messages and their content before we complete any kind of examination of the role of the previous secretary of State for Health. We will also check the question you asked about whether all Mr Hancock’s records have been disclosed. Any other matters we will revert on as soon as we can.“