London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Oct 26, 2025

Matt Hancock ‘sent menacing message’ over leaked texts as row grows

Matt Hancock ‘sent menacing message’ over leaked texts as row grows

You’ve made ‘a big mistake’ says former Health Secretary as he hits out at reporter’s ‘breach of trust and betrayal’

The row over more than 100,000 WhatsApp messages concerning the Government’s Covid response deepened on Thursday as Matt Hancock was accused of sending a “menacing” late-night message to the journalist who leaked them.

They also sparked concerns over whether too many key decisions in government during the pandemic were made through WhatApps, and raised fresh questions over the closure of schools, and led to new tensions with teachers.

As the former health secretary faced a wave of new allegations, Isabel Oakeshott claimed he sent her a “threatening” message at 1.20am yesterday as news was breaking of The Daily Telegraph’s publication of his WhatsApps.

Mr Hancock admitted telling Ms Oakeshott she had made “a big mistake” after she passed on his private messages to the newspaper, having helped him to write his Pandemic Diaries memoir. But he denied the message was threatening and accused her of a “massive betrayal and breach of trust”.

He argued: “There is absolutely no public interest case for this huge breach,” stressing that the “material for his book” had already been sent to the official Covid inquiry.

However, she flatly rejected this claim. “He’s making a fool of himself to suggest there’s no public interest in this,” she told Times Radio.

“If Matt Hancock wants to enter into an ugly fight with me, then that would be an interesting judgement on his part, I wouldn’t advise it.”

She appeared to admit she had broken a non-disclosure agreement with Mr Hancock, but defended her conduct.

Ms Oakeshott later fired back again, saying she makes “no apology whatsoever for acting in the national interest”. “The greatest betrayal is of the entire country,” she added.

Amid the war of words:

*  Ministers came under fire over whether blunders were made in the Covid response because so many policies were being shaped on WhatsApp.

*  Mr Hancock and former education secretary Sir Gavin Williamson faced a furious backlash over disparaging comments about teaching unions during the pandemic.

*  There were questions over whether children and other young people were asked to make too many sacrifices to protect the elderly who were more at risk from the virus.

*  According to the WhatApp messages, Mr Hancock clashed behind-the-scenes with Sir Gavin on moves to keep schools open during the Covid pandemic.

*  Schools minister Nick Gibb said it will be up to the Covid-19 inquiry to decide if the Government made the right decisions to shut schools.

*  Baroness Hallett, chairwoman of the inquiry, said there would be “no whitewash”, after Ms Oakeshott suggested there might be. The first evidence hearings are due to start in mid-June.

The leaks also raised concerns over government use of WhatsApp. Tory MP Dr Dan Poulter, an ex-health minister, told Times Radio: “I certainly don’t think WhatsApp is the best way of conducting government discussions. It’s convenient, it’s easy. But when you’re making really big decisions about the country, you need to have proper evidence and a proper evidence base to do that.”

Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told BBC Breakfast: “Crucial issues of public health were being made through WhatsApp exchanges and they don’t resonate with the conversations which we were having with the Secretary of State for Education.”

Schools minister Mr Gibb insisted on LBC Radio: “The actual decision-making that takes place in government takes place in minuted meetings. People have always had private conversations in the voting lobbies, over lunch... so WhatsApp is an extension of that.”

However, the leaks appear to show decisions were being made, or at least communicated by Mr Hancock, by WhatsApp for example on initially not testing people from the community going into care homes at the start of the pandemic. The then-health secretary insists the decision was due to limitations on testing.

England’s Chief Medical Officer Sir Chris Whitty had advised testing of everyone going into care homes but this was prioritised for people coming from hospital as they were deemed more likely to have caught the virus. Mr Hancock messaged that he was fighting a “rearguard action” to prevent a “policy car crash” as Sir Gavin resisted moves to close schools.

In the event, on January 4, after many younger children had returned to classes for a single day, Boris Johnson said schools would close and exams cancelled amid a national lockdown. They did not reopen until March 8.

The messages also show how Mr Hancock and Sir Gavin had earlier expressed exasperation with teaching unions. Mr Hancock messaged Sir Gavin to congratulate him on a decision to delay A-level exams for a few weeks. “Cracking announcement today. What a bunch of absolute arses the teaching unions are,” he wrote.

Sir Gavin responded: “I know they really really do just hate work.”

Sir Gavin said his comments had been “about some unions and not teachers”.

He added: “I have the utmost respect for teachers who work tirelessly to support students.”

But Mr Barton condemned the “contemptible” comments.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
×