UK ministers mocked for locking down travelers during Covid, leaked message shows
UK ministers and senior officials have joked about travelers arriving in the country being locked up in quarantine hotels during the Covid pandemic, leaked messages have revealed. In an exchange with UK Cabinet Secretary Simon Case in February 2021, the then Health Secretary Matt Hancock said they were “giving all the big suites to big families and putting pop stars in box rooms”.
Simon Case replied, “I’d like to see some of the faces of people coming out of first class in the Premier Inn’s shoebox.” Next, Simon Case asked how many people had been “locked up” in hotels the previous day.
The messages were published by The Daily Telegraph to which Matt Hancock replied, “None. But 149 chose to enter the country and are now in quarantine hotels of their own accord!” To which Simon Case replied: “Hilarious.”
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The messages also suggested Matt Hancock wanted to “get down heavily with the police” over enforcement of the lockdown rules. On the leaked messages, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said, “These messages reveal the arrogance and shameful lack of respect Conservative ministers showed to the public and the police, whom they expected to do an extremely complex job under difficult circumstances.” were staying.”
Yvette Cooper said, “At the same time as they were breaking the law with their lockdown parties, they were calling for stronger enforcement by the police on everyone and having fun at the expense of the public and the police.”
