Matt Hancock 'wanted to treat French Covid patients in the UK at height of ... trends now
Matt Hancock wanted to bring Covid-19 patients from France to the UK for treatment during the pandemic, it was reported last night.
The former health secretary drew up the plan despite lockdown restrictions being in place to protect the NHS.
In WhatsApp messages published by the Daily Telegraph, Mr Hancock hoped to offer ‘spare’ intensive care unit (ICU) beds to French President Emmanuel Macron.
At the time, France was facing a major outbreak of the virus and Mr Hancock wanted to offer help.
The exchanges reveal that the Health department created a secret plan to take Covid patients from the busiest French hospitals to the UK, despite the risk of importing the virus.
Leaked WhatsApp messages showed Matt Hancock was considering lending ‘spare’ intensive care unit (ICU) beds to France
At the time France was facing a major outbreak of the virus and Mr Hancock wanted to offer help
French doctors treat a patient suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Robert Ballanger hospital in Aulnay-sous-Bois near Paris during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in France, October 26, 2020
Britain was under a second national lockdown at the time, which was justified by ministers as being necessary to prevent a ‘medical and moral disaster’ by overwhelming the NHS.
On 13 November 2020, Mr Hancock shared a letter with advisers that he planned to send to French health minister Olivier Veran.
According to the Telegraph, the letter said: ‘I have seen the pressure on your hospitals, and that some patients are being transferred abroad.
‘We have our epidemic largely in the north of England, and some spare capacity in London and the south.
‘We could provide some ICU beds to which you could transfer some patients.
‘Would that be helpful to relieve pressure on your most affected regions? Our countries have always stood by each other in times of need.’
It comes after the relevation that Mr Hancock had joked that Bill Gates 'owes me one' because of 'how many people I'm getting his chips injected into' during the pandemic.
The then Health Secretary referred to unfounded claims that
