[ad_1]
Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged Boris Johnson to “give me a break” in a furious raid on the coronavirus crisis.
The dispute, which raises questions about the embattled future of the Minister’s Cabinet, may unfold as the Prime Minister prepares to use a televised address to the nation this afternoon to establish his road map to facilitate the national blockade.
His plans include the introduction of a five-stage alert system, similar to that used to highlight the risk of a terrorist attack, to signal the risk of infection in different parts of the country.
Matt Hancock (pictured) has asked Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “give him a rest” after a recent raid between the couple for the Secretary of Health’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak
The prime minister will speak to the nation at 7pm on Sunday, describing his five-step exit plan outside the shutdown. This weekend, he is expected to announce that garden centers will be able to open as of Wednesday and will publish guidelines for working safer in offices.
While a Level One green alert would mean life will go on normally, a Level Five Red means the NHS is in critical condition and on the verge of being overwhelmed.
No. 10 is also gearing up to launch a new catchphrase: “stay alert, control the virus, save lives,” to replace the advice to stay home, indicating a gradual shift to a less draconian set of restrictions.
But the government will adopt a cautious approach after scientific advisers warned that Covid-19 is “destroying care homes.”
Hancock has repeatedly failed to meet the daily goals for protective gear, and 25 million glasses were found to be unsuitable for testing.
An increase in the R number, which measures how fast the virus is spreading, came in a “chilling report” from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) to the Cabinet.
A source said: “Sage says we are at the wrong step for R to return to where he was in March.”
Pressure on Hancock over his handling of the crisis intensified last night after it was discovered that more than 25 million protective goggles offered front-line NHS workers an inadequate defense against the deadly virus.
The latest in a series of shameful government flaws in personal protective equipment (PPE) came when leading sources suggested to The Mail on Sunday that Mr. Hancock was now living “on borrowed time” in the cabinet.
As a result of these struggles, the Health Secretary is believed to be “on borrowed time” with ministers furious at these team mistakes.
According to the British Standards Institute, 9.7 million of the 25 million Tiger Eye glasses that were purchased for the NHS will now have to be removed.
A source claimed that Boris Johnson had asked Mr. Hancock questions about his department’s control over the crisis, only for the Minister to plead: “That’s not fair, give me a break.”
The 25.6 million pairs of Tiger Eye glasses purchased for the NHS are not fit for purpose, according to the British Standards Institute: 15.9 million of them have already been distributed, and hospitals are now being told to remove the Remaining 9.7 million of use.
During another weekend of dramatic developments:
- Johnson is expected to confirm that garden centers will be able to open as of Wednesday and will issue guidelines for working safer in offices, but more severe fines of up to £ 3,000 for non-compliance with the rules.
- Airports and travel companies reacted furiously to plans to impose a two-week quarantine on anyone arriving in the country, including UK citizens returning from vacation
- The death toll in the UK increased by 346 to 31,587, including more than 200 health workers. Globally, there have been almost 4 million cases with more than 276,000 lives lost
- The ministers voiced suspicions that political opponents and union tycoons were colluding to block the reopening of schools until wage demands were met.
- Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced a £ 2 billion package to boost cycling and walking
- Actress Miriam Margolyes was furious at saying she expected Mr. Johnson to die of coronavirus.
Hancock’s spokesman said the ministers were “furious” about the bug with the glasses, which they said had been ordered by the Gordon Brown Labor Government in 2009.
A source from the Health Department called them “Gordon glasses” and added that they were purchased against the 2001 protection standards that were replaced at the time they were purchased. “Even a decade later, we still have to clear the mess from work,” added the source.
About 3 million eye protectors are used every day in hospitals, meaning more than eight days’ supply has been lost. But a Health Department spokesperson insisted that the NHS had enough stocks to be able to immediately stop using Tiger Eye glasses.
While more than eight days of eye shields were lost due to this mishap, a Health Department spokesperson maintains that the NHS has enough stock to stop wearing Tiger Eye glasses for now.
Tensions are believed to be high not only between the Health Secretary (left) and the Prime Minister (right), but also with the other powerful figures of the Conservative Government.
However, the latest fiasco of PPE will be detrimental to the Health Secretary, days after it became known that surgical gowns ordered from Turkey and shipped to the UK amid heavy fanfare did not meet British safety standards.
“The feeling is that Hancock is on borrowed time,” said a senior government source.
Fallen There have been fights with the most powerful government figures, from the Prime Minister down.
‘Nothing will change immediately. But once we have beaten this thing, let’s hope it moves him. ”
Even though Hancock’s cabinet status is clouded with doubts, a source close to the Health Secretary said the prime minister (above) is happy with the work being done by his right hand.
The UK has reported 31,587 coronavirus-related deaths during the pandemic, with more deaths recorded than any other country in Europe and second only to the United States in terms of global deaths
A source close to Mr. Hancock admitted that tensions had increased in the run-up to the deadline to reach a target of 100,000 tests per day, but said “the prime minister was highly praised for his performance.”
“We have been working incredibly well with the Prime Minister and the entire No. 10 team and have had nothing but full support from them,” added the source.
‘During the Cabinet, the Prime Minister praised Matt for doing an” incredible job in hellishly difficult circumstances. ” ’
Johnson will head to the country after leading a Cobra emergency committee meeting this afternoon.
A source No. 10 said: “This is a critical time, so after carefully evaluating the evidence, the Prime Minister will call for resolution from the public as we continue to do whatever it takes to defeat this devastating virus.”
Similar to how the Joint Terrorism Analysis Center and MI5 establish the level of terrorist threat, the Covid alert level will be established by medical and data experts working for a new “Joint Biosecurity Center”.
‘School Prefect’ Matt Hancock ‘lives on borrowed time’ after clashes with Michael Gove, Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson
Matt Hancock lives on “borrowed time” as Secretary of Health after clashes with the three most powerful members of the Government over the Covid crisis, The mail on Sunday has been said
Hancock is understood to have begged “give me a break” when Boris Johnson rebuked him for the virus testing program, leading to open questions on Downing Street about Hancock’s long-term political future.
Her encounter with Mr. Johnson follows battles with Rishi Sunak and Michael Gove over the best strategy to manage the pandemic.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock is “on borrowed time” after fighting with the three highest members of the government.
Hancock’s clash with the Prime Minister follows battles with Chancellor over Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove (left) and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak (right)
Shortly after Johnson returned to work at # 10 a fortnight ago, he and Johnson had a tense exchange about the Health Department’s “grip” on the crisis, during which Hancock told the Prime Minister, in what was he’s described as a ‘smug’ tone: ‘That’s not fair, give me a break.’
He is also accused in some sectors of the government, or made a scapegoat, according to his allies, for not moving fast enough to do more to protect care homes from the epidemic.
Officials at Whitehall already knew in the first week of March that the projected death rate among those over 90 was expected to be as high as 50 percent, leading to discussions about “cocooning” institutions against the infection.
Hancock has also been accused of failing to move fast enough to protect care homes from the deadly virus.
But as infection rates began to rise later that month, care workers were still entering homes, many of whom had traveled on public transportation, without the necessary protective equipment.
With the rate of reproduction of the virus now declining in the broader community, it is the continued spread in residential care homes that has so far prevented Johnson from lifting further blocking measures.
And Hancock has upset Downing Street with his tendency to come up with impromptu policies, such as his threat last month to ban all outside exercise, which he had to abandon almost immediately.
A source No10 expressed irritation at what they described as “Hancock’s insistence on playing the big man” during the crisis.
This has led the Secretary of Health to be compared by some to a school prefect, but one “who never becomes the head of the school.”
A Downing Street source also described the Secretary of Health as a prefect “who never becomes the boss.” (Caricature of Henry Davies)
A main government source said: ‘The feeling is that Hancock is on borrowed time. He has quarreled with the most powerful government figures, from the prime minister down.
‘Nothing will change immediately. But once we have beaten this thing, let’s hope it moves him. “
As a cabinet ‘dove’ opposing an early relaxation of the blocking rules, Hancock has engaged in ideological battles with Chancellor Mr. Sunak, who leads the cabinet ‘hawks’ who are interested In getting the economy out of its Covid-inflicted tailspin as quickly as possible.
Although the allies of both men insist that they share the same goal of saving lives while protecting the economy, there is little doubt that they differ on how to achieve it, and have had “robust” exchanges in this regard.
Hancock is believed to have participated in several ideological battles with Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who is eager to quickly get the economy out of its swooping fall inflicted by Covid.
The Secretary of Health has also quarreled with Mr. Gove (left) over the supply of ventilators and protective equipment across the country.
Hancock also made the mistake of crossing swords with Gove, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
The two cabinet ministers, who chair one of the four committees established to combat the virus, as well as being on the daily C-19 supercommittee chaired by the Prime Minister and Cobra’s emergency committee, have clashed over the supply. of fans and protective equipment.
A colleague described Mr. Gove as “much more detailed” than Mr. Hancock, and “is not afraid to show it.”
Hancock is also viewed with suspicion within Johnson’s pro-Brexit inner circle due to his previous closeness to George Osborne, the remaining former chancellor.
He ran for leadership last year with a smooth Brexit ticket, only to retire when he mustered just 20 votes. He went on to support Mr. Johnson, the front-runner, in the process that cast his soft views on Brexit and abandoned his opposition to Mr. Johnson’s plan to suspend Parliament to force him through Brexit.
At one point during Johnson’s campaign, when Hancock visited his Commons office to offer his support, Johnson is said to have made an obscene hand gesture when Hancock left.
Hancock also drew criticism last week for telling a Labor MP to “watch her tone” after questioning her about the government’s coronavirus testing strategy. His comment to Dr. Rosena Allin-Khan, who also works as an A&E doctor, caused an uproar among MPs who accused him of sexism.
The Health Secretary was also charged with sexism after he told Labor MP and A&E doctor Rosena Allin-Khan (left) to “watch your tone” at a House of Commons session.
In a makeshift policy, Hancock threatened to ban all outdoor exercise across the UK to combat the virus, but Downing Street pressure forced him to abandon this idea.
Hancock was forced to abandon his threat to ban all external exercise under intense pressure from Downing Street.
An official said at the time: ‘If it is not pulled out of this hole [at that day’s press conference] then we’ll do it for him. “Mr. Hancock duly made a U-turn at the briefing.
A source close to Mr. Hancock said: “We have been working incredibly well with the Prime Minister and the entire No. 10 team and have had nothing but their full support.” The source added that Mr. Johnson praised Mr. Hancock for doing incredible work in hellishly difficult circumstances. ‘
MoS Launches £ 3 Million Fund to Help Small Businesses Beat the Virus
The Mail on Sunday today launches a £ 3 million support package to help small businesses combat the coronavirus crisis.
The owner of the MoS, Daily Mail, Metro and i is giving away £ 3,000 of advertising in his newspapers, and on Mail Online and metro.co.uk, to 1,000 small businesses.
The groundbreaking gift, released in collaboration with the Small Business Federation, will be open for applications starting Wednesday at grant.fsb.org.uk.
It’s how The Mail on Sunday does its best to help businesses that provide income to more than 17 million people, and follows in the footsteps of the successful Mail Force initiative.
That charity, created by the owner of the MoS Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) and its partners, has already raised more than £ 6 million to transport millions of items of vital protective equipment for NHS staff and care workers. .
Today, a survey by accounting software giant Sage finds that one in three companies expects sales to be 50% lower after the blockade is eased. A separate investigation by the law firm Buckworths found that a quarter of small businesses do not believe that existing government support measures are sufficient for them to survive.
Mike Cherry, President of the Small Business Federation, said: ‘Our members will be very grateful to The Mail on Sunday for this generous support. It’s fantastic.
‘The pandemic is likely to impact businesses for months, if not years, and they will need a lot of help to recover.
Confiar Trusting word of mouth won’t be enough to attract new customers. We urge all eligible members to apply for this advertising giveaway.
