Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages: what are the latest disclosures?Frighten the pants off everyone’Hancock told aides he wanted to “frighten the pants off everyone” to ensure compliance with Covid-19 restrictions.
The then health secretary and others discussed how to use an announcement about the Alpha, or “Kent”, variant of the virus to scare the public into changing their behaviour.
In a WhatsApp conversation on 13 December 2020, Damon Poole, one of Hancock’s media advisers, said Tory MPs were “furious already about the prospect” of stricter Covid measures and suggested “we can roll pitch with the new strain”.
Hancock replied: “We frighten the pants off everyone with the new strain.” Poole said in agreement: “Yep that’s what will get proper bahviour [sic] change.”
https://www.theguardian.c(...)-leak-covid-pandemic
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