Matt Hancock

Families who lost relatives in care homes during the pandemic accuse Matt Hancock of a 'cruel lie' after a COVID inquiry report rejected his claim that the government threw a 'protective ring' around care homes. Sky News is covering the inquiry's latest findings, which have renewed anger over early-pandemic policy in England. Searches for care homes are rising alongside the coverage.

The UK Covid-19 inquiry has concluded that care home residents were treated as an afterthought during the pandemic, a finding with direct implications for Matt Hancock, who was Health Secretary at the time. Critics say the verdict undercuts his repeated claims that a protective ring was thrown around care homes. The Telegraph reported the finding, prompting renewed debate about ministerial responsibility for the discharges of hospital patients into care settings in 2020.

Commenters are accusing Boris Johnson and the UK Conservative government, particularly former health secretary Matt Hancock, of repeatedly lying during the Covid-19 pandemic and combining dishonesty with incompetence that allegedly cost thousands of lives. The claims echo long-standing criticism of the government's pandemic record and are being voiced with a sense that the allegations have now been confirmed.

Baroness Hallett concluded that Covid "spread like wildfire" in the UK because of a lack of PPE. The finding contradicts statements by then health secretary Matt Hancock, who said in April and May 2020 that PPE was not in short supply, "just in the wrong place". The conclusion comes from the UK's Covid-19 public inquiry, drawing renewed criticism of the government's pandemic response.