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Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the prime minister to “give me a break” in an alleged raid on the coronavirus emergency, according to reports.
It is understood that the couple was affected after Boris Johnson criticized his minister for the handling of the pandemic by the Health Department, reports Mail on Sunday.
Hancock is said to have replied to his boss, “That’s not fair, give me a break.”
It has led to speculation about the future of the Health Secretary, with a government source who reportedly tells the newspaper that he is on “borrowed time.”
“He has quarreled with the most powerful figures in the government, from the prime minister to the bottom. Nothing will change immediately. But once we have overcome this, we hope it will be moved,” the source said.
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However, another source close to Mr. Hancock has refuted the suggestions, saying that the Prime Minister praised him for doing an “incredible job in hellishly difficult circumstances.”
“We have been working incredibly well with the Prime Minister and the entire No. 10 team and we have had nothing but their full support,” they said.
The UK now has the highest coronavirus death rate on record in Europe, and although the government cautions against directly comparing the figures between different countries, it faces inquiring questions about its management of the pandemic.
The nation’s death toll is now 31,587 after 346 people died in the past 24 hours.
It was also learned last night that more than 25 million pairs of glasses purchased for NHS hospitals were found to offer inadequate protection against Covid-19.
In the latest failure related to supplying personal protective equipment (PPE) to the front line of the NHS, vital to protecting healthcare workers from the highly contagious virus, more than 16 million Tiger Eye glasses had to be removed from hospitals.
The glasses, which were ordered as part of a pandemic stockpile in 2009, were found not to meet safety standards set by the British Standards Institute.
The Prime Minister will address the nation this afternoon, setting out his roadmap for the next stage of the coronavirus battle.
In a televised speech, Boris Johnson is expected to tell the public to “stay alert, control the virus, and save lives” while changing his “stay home” message.
It is understood that he will call on workers and companies to remain vigilant following strict rules of social distancing, as the Government urges employees who cannot work from home to begin returning to offices and factories.
The government’s new five-tier system, similar to a scheme used to advertise terrorist threat levels, will be used to report any risk of coronavirus.
The nation was also encouraged to comply with all the rules that include social distancing.
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