The Covid inquiry has heard there “isn’t a day that goes by” when Matt Hancock does not think of those who died from coronavirus.
In written evidence to the inquiry, presented on Tuesday, the former health secretary said: “There isn’t a day that goes by that I do not think about all those who lost their lives to this awful disease or the loved ones they have left behind.
“My office in Parliament overlooks the National Memorial Covid Wall. I have visited the wall and been able to read about many of the families affected. I express my deepest sympathies to all those affected.”
Pandemic preparedness
The statement was shown to the inquiry by Hugo Keith KC, lead counsel to the inquiry.
It comes as Mr Hancock told the hearing he asked for more details on his first day in the job as health secretary in 2018 regarding the UK’s pandemic preparedness.
He said: “I was already aware of this element of the role from my time at the Cabinet Office, but nevertheless, it was properly and formally brought to my attention.
“And on day one, I asked for more information on preparedness, because I, having been involved in previous crises – for instance at the Bank of England before I went into politics – I knew that when things go wrong, things move quickly, and you need to be as well prepared as you can.”
He also said he took his role as “principle responder” to a pandemic “very seriously”.
“Vital opportunity”
In his written witness statement, Mr Hancock said he expressed “heartfelt thanks” to all those who “rose to the enormous challenge of dealing with this unprecedented pandemic, in the NHS, social care, public health, civil service…”
He said the Covid inquiry was a “vital opportunity” to learn from what happened and to prepare better for the future”, adding that he was “guided by the best available science at the time”.
However, he acknowledged that the inquiry would not be able to “heal all the pain”.
The MP said his motivation throughout the pandemic was to “save lives”, with everyone working in “extremely difficult circumstances”.
He said “huge decisions had to be made very fast” and much work was done by a large number of people with “diligence, due care and tireless effort”.
“You shook my husband’s hand for your photo op”
Earlier, as Mr Hancock got out of a black Jaguar 4×4 outside the inquiry building in London, widow Lorelei King, 69, held up pictures of her husband, Vincent Marzello, who died from coronavirus aged 72 in a care home in March 2020.
One poster featured an image of Mr Hancock with Ms King’s husband and was captioned: “You shook my husband’s hand for your photo op.”
The other poster featured an image of her husband’s coffin, with the caption: “This was my photo op after your ‘ring of protection’ around care homes.”
Several members of the group Covid Families for Justice waited outside for Mr Hancock’s arrival.
Mr Hancock, also known for his appearance last year on TV’s I’m A Celebrity, became health secretary in mid-2018, but his political career was torpedoed after footage emerged in 2021 of his embrace with aide Gina Coladangelo.
A leak of more than 100,000 of his WhatsApp messages by journalist Isabel Oakeshott to the Daily Telegraph, many of which were published earlier this year, provided a glimpse into the inner workings of Government during the pandemic.
His appearance comes as the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that nearly 36 million people across Europe may have experienced long Covid in the first three years of the pandemic.
That is around one in 30 Europeans over the past three years, WHO said.
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