Matt Hancock to enter the jungle in I’m a Celebrity

He didn't make unilateral decisions.

I was so pleased Jill won power to the women

Callistemon21

He didn't make unilateral decisions.

They could all volunteer to make amends, in that case.

Honestly - when I think of those poor people who were sent to their deaths it makes me so angry. I know people make mistakes, and am not unreasonable (I don't think so anyway), but when the people making the policies were not sticking to the rules there is just no excuse. I can't believe they have all got away with it with no consequences.

Doodledog - calm down!!

I am perfectly calm, thanks.

Aveline

If only we'd had someone who had the nerves of steel to put all the contracts through the usual procurement process as Covid raged through the country killing thousands?! I wonder how many more would have died if ministers hadn't had to make snap decisions to try to get the vital equipment in the face of competition for it? So easy for armchair critics to snipe sanctimoniously after the event.

Rubbish. There was a fast track VIP route which he and others used, with access primarily for friends. The 30 day requirement was for the contracts to be scrutinised, but not in advance. They just had to be considered within 30 days.

Just look at the world. Especially the western world. The same thing was happening all over Europe, USA and Canada. We by far weren't the worst.

It was not Matt Hancock's fault. It was not the government's fault. We were dealing with a catastrophic event. The first wave was brutal. I lost a loved one in the first wave in a nursing home. I'm aware though that the government weren't to blame. It was a virus that was unknown. It was an awful time but so wrong to lay all the blame on one man who was just following orders. Mistakes were made world wide as we tried to cope.

Of course the affair was awful and I feel sympathy for his family but that's not my business.

edition.cnn.com/2020/05/26/world/elderly-care-homes-coronavirus-intl/index.html

That article is from the early days of the pandemic.

Who was giving the orders, then?

Aveline

Doodledog - calm down!!

Have you read all the stuff that's been posted about the fraudulent contracts?

Baroness Mone and the £29. Her company PPE Medro received £203 million in contracts. This company is being investigated by the police for potential fraud and the National Crime Agency. The company was in fact set up 5 days after receiving the first contract for £80 million.

So, you obviously think that it's OK for Mone and her husband Barrowman to benefit from fraudulent activities?
And what about the rest of the dodgy providers?

£269 billion in dodgy contracts. Think what could have been done with that money.

Aveline

If only we'd had someone who had the nerves of steel to put all the contracts through the usual procurement process as Covid raged through the country killing thousands?! I wonder how many more would have died if ministers hadn't had to make snap decisions to try to get the vital equipment in the face of competition for it? So easy for armchair critics to snipe sanctimoniously after the event.

Quite agree.

Good post at 21.41 Zoujory.

I’m not a paid up member of the Matt Hancock killed granny club. However, I do think he shouldn’t have been in the jungle because he should have been at his desk in Westminster. Having said that he came across a an okay person, a lot nicer than some in there.

I agree, maddy. He was personable and pleasant enough, which is one of the reasons I feel calmly and unsanctimoniously annoyed .

It seems to me wrong that someone can behave as he did and then charm his way back to respectability. I'm in no way saying that he was uniquely responsible (although I'd still like to know who 'gave the orders'); but he was part of a team of people who should be doing nothing until they have been rigorously investigated and jailed if they are found to have behaved in a corrupt manner by handing out contracts based on friendships and/or influence.

It seems to me further corruption that he used the fame/infamy he gained during Covid to get a place on a TV show that paid him so much money when he should have been working in the job that was also paying him.

I see the affair as a personal matter between him, his family and his girlfriend, but he even capitalised on that by excusing his behaviour and by 'that' reunion, with the greeting shot that emulated the CCTV one that cost him his job. He strikes me as deeply unprincipled.

Doodledog Exactly.

My opinion, for what it’s worth (which isn’t a lot because I’m not an expert) is that the government rolled out the lockdown too late, and that was one of the reasons for the high death toll. Older people were always going to be the worst affected group because Covid killed more older people, and that is because most older people have other, usually several other, comorbidities. There was no vaccination, and because it was a novel virus, medics didn’t initially know the best forms of treatment. The government was advised by medics and scientists, and they followed the advice. It was advised to move older people in hospital to care homes in order to protect them as many Covid patients were being admitted to hospitals and elderly patients were likely to catch Covid in hospital, and many did just that, including my own mother. It was thought that moving elderly patients would protect them. Of course it didn’t, but we know that in retrospect. And that’s why I won’t condemn Matt Hancock, or any other member of the government, for many elderly deaths from Covid.
But that doesn’t mean that I agree with MH taking part in this show. It seems clear from this behaviour that he doesn’t intend to stand for Parliament again, in my opinion.
I still enjoyed watching him and found him to be a generally pleasant person. Others in the camp were definitely not very pleasant. My favourites were Jill and Owen. I didn’t vote for anyone, I don’t vote in these kind of shows.

Im just really pleased that Jill won. My favourites were Jill and Owen, too.

Although I think Matt was a great campmate and did well, I still don't think he should have been there. I think he should have been at work.

Our pandemic performance wasn't too bad when you look at what's happening in China. They are still caught in a spider's web of lockdowns with little chance of escape. The authorities don't seem able to deal with the pandemic even now.

Comparing ‘our ‘ pandemic with China is like comparing Sunday roast with a chine take away. Pointless

I am in a unique position as my business has supplied PPE for over forty years.

As soon as news began to drip drip drip out of China the PPE industry virtually imploded. Every Country on Planet Earth was trying to source high grade medical grade PPE

Having a fast track procurement channel was in my opinion a good strategy, where it went wrong was that there was no one with PPE experience vetting/organising it. Questions are rightly being asked but I will wait to there is a formal impartial enquiry before making up my mind on the guilt of others.

(Baroness of Mayfair is not looking squeaky clean)

No Government ministers were experts on global pandemics they were all relying on experts in that field. DH said at the time that Matt Hancock would be the pandemics fall guy and he was not wrong.

By the way he did not personally discharge patients from hospitals that is the remit of the discharge team.

I feel so sorry for Matt Baker’s wife and children seeing pictures of him in the newspaper all ‘loved up’ with his girlfriend. One day he may regret all these full on hugging photos, when his children reject him as a sleazy old man.

Matt Baker??
His girlfiend (unintentional mistake, but appropriate, don't you think?) is also married, three children.

Why do you think it has taken so long to find out what happened, Grannygravy? Surely there should have been a paper trail, so that even a fortnight later it would have been clear who did what for what reason? As you say, I don't have insider knowledge, but looking in from the outside I don't understand how so much public money can change hands with no immediately available accounts that can be scrutinised. How do these things take years?

I do understand that quick decisions had to be made, and that we don't yet have the results of an enquiry, but my comments are about MH being allowed to profit from what were undoubtedly mistakes and may prove to be worse.

I also feel sorry for his family, NanKate. It must be very difficult for them all, and I'd be beyond furious if I were his wife. I don't, however, think that people's personal lives should prevent them from making a living. Clearly, if you enter what is basically a popularity contest and you have behaved in an unpopular manner, you will reap what you sow (and that's absolutely fair enough), but IMO if we start sanctioning people for mistakes in their private lives we'll soon end up without anyone available to do very much.

NanKate

I feel so sorry for Matt Baker’s wife and children seeing pictures of him in the newspaper all ‘loved up’ with his girlfriend. One day he may regret all these full on hugging photos, when his children reject him as a sleazy old man.

He is not the first man to fall in love with a work colleague and I doubt he will be the last.

He is not old by the way, and having an affair does not make you sleazy

Children who’s parents have affairs do not automatically reject the parent who leaves the marital home.

Agreed GrannyGravy he's 44 and having an affair doesn't make him a bad father or sleazy.

I’ve been married to the same man for most of my life, but I know that marriages break down and people have affairs/new partners. Many on Gransnet have been married more than once or live with their partners. This is part of modern life and people are no longer compelled to stay in unhappy marriages. It’s always sad when a relationship fails, for any reason, and this is the position that MH is in. It has nothing to do with his parliamentary career, nor his role on I’m a Celebrity. Clearly he was photographed and exposed by someone in government when he was seen kissing his partner whilst at work. Clearly he shouldn’t have been doing this, it is not professional behaviour. However he wasn’t the first and he won’t be the last. I’m not excusing it, just accepting that this happens, probably more often than we know, in all walks of life all the time. I find the sanctimonious comment by some members of the public, not necessarily on Gransnet, rather two faced, given that we all know this happens all the time. The fact that we were in lockdown carries little weight with me as all government employees were working in extremely close quarters all though lockdown, as were people in many other workplace settings such as hospitals, shops, and schools.