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Matt Hancock knew Covid tier system would not work

Andy Burnham recalled his fury at Greater Manchester being ‘punished’ with measures ministers knew wouldn’t work

By finlay johnston
Matt Hancock knew Covid tier system would not work
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said the government knew at the time that the tier system of Covid restrictions would not work | Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
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Matt Hancock knew the tier system of Covid restrictions implemented in October 2020 would not work, the UK Covid inquiry heard today.

An extract of the disgraced former health secretary’s witness statement was read out at the inquiry by the mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham.

Hancock, who is set to appear at the inquiry on Thursday, wrote he “was in despair that we had announced a policy that we knew would not work”.

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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0