Matt Hancock discussed 'deploying' new virus variant to 'frighten the pants off everyone'
Matt Hancock discussed 'deploying' new virus variant to 'frighten the pants off everyone' as former Health Secretary demands immunity on care home deaths during the pandemic | Matt Hancock told aides he wanted to 'frighten the pants off everyone' to ensure compliance with Covid-19 restrictions, leaked messages reveal, as it emerges he told top London lawyers he should be immune from prosecution just days before the WhatsApp scandal broke. In an online Q&A with law firm Mishcon de Reya, Matt Hancock accused those prosecuting Secretaries of State as 'chasing tabloid headlines' just 12 days ago, The Mirror reports. It comes as a new swathe of messages from Mr Hancock's WhatsApp account were revealed today, involving discussions over how to scare the public to limit the spread of coronavirus, and when to 'deploy' details of a new strain. The latest set of WhatsApp exchanges show Mr Hancock and others discussed how to use an announcement about the Kent variant of the virus to scare the public into changing their behaviour.
■ UK PM Backs Official COVID-19 Inquiry After 100,000 WhatsApp Messages Released To Newspaper (Zero Hedge)