Former health secretary Matt Hancock mocked people in quarantine during the lockdown and suggested getting “heavy on the police”, leaked texts show.
WhatsApp messages published by the Daily Telegraph appear to show Mr Hancock joking with a top aide about “locking” passengers in “shoebox” rooms.
Other posts show Boris Johnson describing the £10,000 fine imposed on two people for breaking quarantine rules as “fantastic”.
They are the latest in a series of revelations to come out of the leak.
The messages, which JEE News has not independently verified or seen in their full context, were about 100,000 of those sent between ministers and officials during the pandemic, and journalist Isabel were given to the Telegraph by Oakeshott.
Oakeshott, a long-time critic of the lockdown, was credited with helping Mr Hancock write his book, Pandemic Diary.
He described the leak as a “massive hoax” used to create “a partial, biased account that fits the anti-lockdown agenda”.
But the messages provide insight into the inner workings of the government as it tackles the spread of Covid-19.
In an exchange on 16 February 2021, Simon Case, the most senior cabinet secretary in the civil service, asked Mr Hancock if he knew “how many people we locked up in hotels yesterday”. was”.
The message was sent on the day England introduced mandatory quarantine for arrivals from 33 high-risk countries.
Mr Hancock replied: “None. But 149 chose to enter the country and are now in quarantine hotels of their own free will!”
“Funny,” replied Mr. Case.
Mr Hancock also wrote: “We’re giving away all the suites to big families and putting pop stars in the box rooms.”
People affected by the policy at the time described the way it was implemented as a “mess” and being housed in a hotel was like being in a “prison”.
In an earlier exchange, on 28 August 2020, Mr Case, then Downing Street permanent secretary, asked Mr Hancock “who is actually doing the enforcement”, apparently during a discussion about the lockdown.
Mr Hancock replied: “I think we’re going to have to be heavy handed with the police.”
In another conversation in January 2021, Mr Hancock exclaimed, “Plowd got his marching orders.”
During the pandemic, police were often criticized for enforcing lockdown rules in a way that many saw as overzealous with fines for dog walkers and protesters.
But polls at the time suggested most people supported how the police were enforcing the new laws.
