Written Evidence Submitted by Joe Boon
(CLL0116)
You have asked for written evidence that Matt Hancock lied.
There is written evidence of many lies told by Mr Hancock.
Please consider the following evidence of one lie in the "Joint Inquiry, Coronavirus: Lessons Learnt".
a. On 2 April 2020, Number 10 made the claim (on Twitter and many other places):
"We will test 100,000 people per day by the end of this month"
https://twitter.com/10DowningStreet/status/1245820428020584450
b. This was not met and the written evidence is available on the public record from Government websites.
Near the end of July, months after the original target, the UK was a long way from testing 100,000 people per day.
England 52,342
Scotland 3,130
Wales 7,598
NI 1,477
Total people tested per day = 64,547
Government data sources:
366,397 people tested in week 16-22 July divided by 7 days
Scotland: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-trends-in-daily-data/ (spreadsheet "Trends in daily COVID-19 data: 27 May 2021")
22 July 2021, People with first test results in last 7 days = 21,916, divided by 7 days
Wales: https://gov.wales/testing-data-coronavirus-covid-19-26-july-2020-html
"The highest number of tests authorised in a single calendar day was on 25 July, where 7,598 tests authorised in NHS Wales and non-NHS Wales laboratories." - tests not people, so this is an overestimate
NI: https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/health/db-040820.pdf
Page 9, "Total laboratory completed tests (Pillar 1 & 2) - Daily Change - Individuals tested
(They may have ran 100,000 *tests* per day sometime in June but did not test 100,000 *people* per day until much later, possibly October. Also the official figures contained issues with double-counting, and counted tests posted, not tests tested! You might want to listen to the relevant episodes of "More or Less" on Radio 4 from 2020 where they explain double-counting, counting tests sent but not performed, etc. There was a concerted effort from the Mr Hancock's department to inflate and over-count, and not report the truth.).
This data was available last year (I tweeted about it several times last year).
c. Mr Hancock has repeatedly lied that the government met its targets:
- At the end of April Mr Hancock claimed they had met this number. They did not, and probably didn't for several months after.
- Mr Hancock was well aware this was the case but made efforts to double-count and inflate the figures.
- He lied again that all targets were met, during an interview given to Radio 4 on January 4th 2021, at 8.21am
d. What is the impact of the lies?
Knowing the true number of people tested would have revealed the virus was spreading faster and needed more precautions to be observed.
I imagine Mr Hancock wanted to make boasts and claims and then try to make himself look good while dealing with the virus. I know this was a hard job, but it was insulting and not necessary for the government to make boasts about their performance while telling plain lies. Targets are useful. It was disappointing that journalists and opposing political parties did not highlight these failings more, especially in regard to such a serious matter.
This has undermined trust, and undermined compliance, and almost certainly led to unnecessary suffering and deaths.
I encourage you to bring the truth to light so we may all learn from it and make a better response to the next crisis.
(June 2021)