Nesil Caliskan blasts former health secretary after a series of WhatsApp messages from the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic were leaked

Nesil Caliskan (left) and Matt Hancock (right)

Enfield Council leader Nesil Caliskan has called ex-health secretary Matt Hancock “a disgrace” after leaked messages suggested he ignored scientific advice on Covid-19 testing in care homes three years ago.

Over the past few days The Daily Telegraph has been revealing a series of WhatsApp messages sent by Hancock during the first year of the pandemic, after they were leaked by the ghost writer of his autobiography. Some of the most controversial messages concern the decision not to enforce Covid-19 testing for everyone entering a care home when the first coronavirus wave hit.

Enfield’s care homes were particularly hard hit during the first wave of the pandemic, with 146 residents dying in the first month alone. In the worst cases, some care homes lost almost a third of their residents, while a young care worker also died.

In June 2020, the Dispatch revealed that care homes in Enfield were refused Covid-19 tests for symptomatic residents just days after Hancock told a Downing Street press conference that any symptomatic care home resident would be tested.

The Telegraph has now revealed that Hancock rejected advice from chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty to test everyone going into care homes and also suggested that expanding testing in care homes would “get in the way” of his 100,000 daily test target that he had set himself.

Cllr Caliskan, who wrote a letter to Hancock in April 2020 highlighting a lack of support to frontline workers in care homes, said: “Matt Hancock is a disgrace. The impact of coronavirus on Enfield care homes was nothing short of catastrophic. In the first wave, half of all deaths in the borough from coronavirus happened in care homes.

“It is clear that Matt Hancock failed to follow scientific advice, failed to protect frontline health workers with adequate PPE, and failed to deliver proper testing in care homes. He was warned by scientific experts, by professionals working in the adult social care sector, and by local authorities – but he chose to ignore.

“People died unnecessarily because of government decisions, but Matt Hancock is more interested in protecting his reputation.”

Enfield Council has produced a review into the impact of coronavirus on the borough which is currently in draft form. Commenting on the review, Cllr Caliskan said: “Coronavirus has had a stark impact on our communities.

“To mark the third anniversary of the first lockdown, we will publish our review into the impact of Covid-19 on our borough, and will be submitting it to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. It is time for the inquiry to scrutinise government decisions and publish all evidence to provide transparency for those who have lost loved ones during the pandemic.”

Hancock resigned as health secretary in June 2021 after he was exposed breaking his own government’s lockdown guidance by snogging a co-worker he was having an affair with. He has claimed in response to this week’s leaked messages that it was “flat wrong” to say he rejected clinical advice on care home testing since he had been told that the UK at the time did not have the capacity to test everyone going into care homes.

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.