Matt Hancock cracked with emotion while giving evidence to the official Covid inquiry this morning, his voice breaking with sadness as he told the room of his “profound sorrow” for the Government’s “flawed doctrine” that caused problems when trying to battle the virus.
He told the inquiry that there had been a “huge error in the doctrine that the UK – and the whole Western world – had in tackling a pandemic”, adding that doctrine “underpinned many of the problems that made it extremely difficult to respond”.
Mr Hancock said he was “profoundly sorry for the impact that 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, 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 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.”
He added his concern that the systems put in place over the course of the Covid pandemic to tackle a virus outbreak are “being dismantled as we speak”.
MORE TO COME…
