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Former health secretary tells Covid inquiry the country should have focused more on halting disease transmission

William Wallis — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 07:58:51 +0000

The UK’s approach to pandemic planning was based on a flawed strategy that prioritised clearing up after a disaster over attempting to prevent one, former health secretary Matt Hancock told the Covid-19 inquiry on Tuesday.

“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? That was completely wrong,” said Hancock, giving evidence about his role in government before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020.

“As secretary of state, you have a limited set of resources and you have to make sure those resources are targeted at threats you face. One of those risks was a disorganised Brexit,” said Hancock.

But he added that Cygnus’s recommendations might not have proved relevant because they too were informed by the same worst-case scenario planning that had become embedded in the UK’s entire approach.

Apologising “profoundly . . . for each death that has occurred”, Hancock said he hoped the inquiry would ensure the UK stopped a future pandemic “in its tracks much, much earlier and that we have the systems in place to do that because I am worried that they are being dismantled as we speak”.

He also sought credit for prioritising early in his tenure as health secretary the ramping up of the UK’s capacity to produce its own vaccines in an effort to ensure the country would not be reliant on overseas supplies in a chaotic pandemic scenario.

“I insisted we pushed on domestic manufacturing and sought the funding to deliver on that,” he said.

This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:William Wallis

Ministers say ‘groupthink’ meant they were persuaded Britain was one of best prepared nations before Covid-19 struck

William Wallis — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 14:06:14 +0000

UK officials believed the country was as well-prepared as anywhere in the world to deal with a pandemic before coronavirus struck, chancellor Jeremy Hunt told the Covid-19 inquiry on Wednesday.

The government failed to draw lessons from Asia and elsewhere, partly as a result, he said.

This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:William Wallis

Former chancellor rejects claims health and social care capacity were severely weakened by time Covid-19 struck

William Wallis — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 10:49:14 +0000

Former chancellor George Osborne has insisted that austerity cuts under his watch gave the UK the financial flexibility to cope with the pandemic, in his evidence to the Covid-19 inquiry on Tuesday.

Osborne dismissed claims that Britain’s health and social care capacity had been severely weakened as a result of his cost-cutting programme.

This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:William Wallis

Isle of Man’s GLO wants to sell 25 per cent to clients, letting them influence production

William Wallis — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 16:11:40 +0000

A British medicinal cannabis company based on the Isle of Man is selling up to 25 per cent of its equity to patients in the UK, giving them influence in the production and availability of a drug they struggle to obtain reliably and affordably.

Grow Lab Organics last year became the first company to gain a licence to grow and export cannabis from the Isle of Man, which has its own government but is in a customs union within the UK.

This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:William Wallis