'Matt Hancock reveals he was 'elated' when Dominic Cummings was fired trends now
Matt Hancock was 'furious' at accusations of being the infamous 'chatty rat' and instead pointed the finger at Dominic Cummings, his diaries reveal.
Plans for a full lockdown in November 2020 were leaked to newspapers within hours of a meeting of the Covid strategy group led by Boris Johnson.
The revelations sparked a major leak inquiry at No10 in an unsuccessful attempt to identify the 'chatty rat'.
Now the former health secretary, in the third exclusive extract from his pandemic diaries featuring in the Mail, claims Mr Cummings briefed the Press to 'bounce the PM into announcing the lockdown sooner than later and stop him U-turning'.
He says the No10 adviser smeared Mr Hancock while 'dripping poison' into Mr Johnson's ear.
Matt Hancock was 'furious' at accusations of being the infamous 'chatty rat'
The former Health Secretary claims Dominic Cummings briefed the Press to 'bounce the PM into announcing the lockdown sooner than later and stop him U-turning'
Despite the perilous situation facing the country Mr Cummings ignored Mr Hancock's calls, which the former minister said was 'pathetic, petty and downright irresponsible'.
When false allegations emerged that he had been seen in the House of Commons bar late at night or that he had been to have a haircut with Michael Gove, he pointed the finger at Mr Cummings. 'I think someone's trying to smear me… I think I can take an educated guess,' Mr Hancock wrote.
The bombshell claims reveal the open warfare between the two men as the UK headed into the November national lockdown in 2020.
When Cummings was finally sacked that month, Mr Hancock admits he was 'elated', labelling the adviser 'a frightening, damaging, negative force for so long'.
As cases rose in the autumn of 2020, restrictions began to be re-introduced, with regional 'tiers' keeping much of North under tight controls. By October health chiefs were calling for a 'circuit breaker' national lockdown – but No10 resisted until Halloween when 50,000 people were becoming infected with coronavirus each day.
On the afternoon of Thursday, October 30, the prime minister 'grudgingly accepted the stark, painful facts' and agreed to a four-week lockdown at the Covid meeting, Hancock said.
Within hours the former health secretary received a message from ITV's Robert Peston that read: 'I understand that this pm [afternoon] you, PM, Chancellor and [Michael Gove] met. Am told 99 per cent likely there will be a full national lockdown from next Wed or Thurs.'
Mr Hancock was enjoying dinner out at an Indian restaurant with his family in Newmarket, part of his Suffolk constituency,
