London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

'Why haven't you resigned?': Piers Morgan grills Matt Hancock over government COVID failings

'Why haven't you resigned?': Piers Morgan grills Matt Hancock over government COVID failings

Matt Hancock’s months-long absence from Good Morning Britain ended on Monday, as he faced questions about why he hadn’t resigned over COVID.

Ministers such as the health secretary have dodged being questioned by presenters Morgan and Susanna Reid since April due to a government boycott of the ITV show.

In Hancock’s first appearance since the boycott was lifted, Morgan listed government failings on COVID, saying thousands of elderly people were sent out of hospitals back into care homes without being tested, that 20 million people were allowed to fly into the country during the first wave, and that the public had initially been told not to wear masks.

The presenter also criticised authorities for allowing the Cheltenham Festival to take place, said the country had locked down “at least two weeks late”, and said the UK “stopped community testing” early in the first wave.

“The ‘world-class’ testing system”, which you then promised us in January, is now a complete shambles,” Morgan said.

“So I put it to you, given we now have over 50,000 deaths in this country, which is the worst death toll in the whole of Europe, why are you still health secretary and why haven’t you offered your resignation?”

Hancock said: “Because we’ve been building the response to all of these enormous challenges of this unprecedented pandemic.

“The first thing is on testing, we’ve hit each of the targets I’ve set, half a million tests capacity now.

“And I’m here to tell you we’re going to double that over the next few months, and that means we can use testing in order to find where the virus is and we’ve got those turnaround times down so people can get the result faster and then isolate if needed.”

Labour MPs were quick to highlight Morgan’s criticisms, and also noted that Hancock had not appeared on Channel 4 News for months either.




Hancock is expected to host a press conference at Downing Street on Monday.

The UK has recorded 1.3 million cases of COVID-19 and 51,934 deaths of people who tested positive for the disease within 28 days before they died.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×