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Five things we’ve learned on day three of Hancock’s lockdown files

Matt Hancock (Credit: Getty images)

Ping! It’s day three of the ‘Lockdown Files’ and a whole new tranche of former Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s WhastApp messages has just landed. Mr Steerpike has taken a look at what the Telegraph released last night:

  1. Matt Hancock said ‘we are going to get heavy with the police’

A worried Hancock told Cabinet Secretary Simon Case that the police needed to get a grip on mandating lockdown restrictions. Somewhat concerningly, the head of the civil service asked Hancock ‘who actually is delivering enforcement?’ 

  1. Case found hotel quarantine ‘hilarious’

In an attempt at humour, the Cabinet Secretary said he found imagining ‘the faces of people coming out of first class and into a Premier Inn shoe box’ funny. Hancock said they were ‘giving big families all the suites and putting pop stars in the box rooms’. The glee is unsettling. More than 200,000 people were trapped in these cabins with only 15 minutes of exercise allowed a day.

Steerpike
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Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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