Matt Hancock clashes with Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain
Matt Hancock was finally interviewed by Piers Morgan on GMB today Picture: PA IMAGES - Credit: PA
Health secretary and West Suffolk MP Matt Hancock ended the government’s long absence on ITV’s Good Morning Britain when he went head-to-head with Piers Morgan.
Health secretary Matt Hancock appeared on ITV's Good Morning Britain on Monday Picture: PA - Credit: PA
Mr Hancock was the first Conservative minister to appear on the show in 202 days when he was interviewed by Piers and co-presenter Susanna Reid.
On the show, Mr Hancock was quizzed by the presenters over the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic - including the UK’s death toll, travel restrictions, the spread of the virus in care homes and the alleged breach of lockdown rules by former Downing Street adviser Dominic Cummings.
Piers kicked off the interview by asking the health secretary why he or any of his fellow government ministers had been not appeared on Good Morning Britain since April.
Mr Hancock said: “Obviously this is a critical period in the crisis - that’s what I’ve been working on and I’m here to answer any questions.”
Piers also questioned whether the government was willing to admit to making mistakes during the crisis.
Mr Hancock agreed and said the government had “absolutely” made errors, pointing out restrictions on funeral guests earlier in the year and the impact they had on families.
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After stating how the UK’s Covid death toll was the highest in Europe, Piers asked: “Why are you still health secretary and why haven’t you offered your resignation?”
Mr Hancock replied: “We’ve been building the response to all of these enormous challenges of this unprecedented pandemic.”
The interview ended with the presenters asking Mr Hancock if he wanted to “rethink” his previous support of Mr Cummings, who sparked public outrage when he travelled to Durham and Barnard Castle while displaying symptoms of coronavirus.
Mr Cummings has recently left his position advising the government following days of reported turmoil and unrest at Downing Street.
Mr Hancock responded: “I’m not going to get into that.
“What I care about is the future - the expansion of the testing, this new vaccine that we’re trialling, getting people out of this so we are back to normal as quickly as possible.”
MORE: One-hour Covid tests will be ‘extremely valuable asset’, says Suffolk health chief
