Sedwill takes brutal swipe at ‘kiss arse’ Hancock

The former head of the Civil Service took a brutal swipe at Matt Hancock during his time as health secretary, the Covid Inquiry has heard.

Lord Sedwill, the former cabinet secretary, said Hancock should have been sacked in a WhatsApp exchange with Simon Case, his successor, in one of several scathing messages about his performance during the pandemic.

Also describing Hancock as a “big problem”, he said he was “so far up Boris Johnson’s arse that his ankles were brown”, concerns he says he relayed to the PM too.

“I had raised my concerns with the Prime Minister. That was not intended for him to remove Mr Hancock, but to take a grip on the issue,” he told the Inquiry.

Asked about his NHS comment, Lord Sedwill said it was meant as a bit of “gallows humour” and should not be “over-interpreted”.

He said he did not use the word “sack” with the Prime Minister, but “did use it in a WhatsApp with Simon Case”, he added.

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.