Health secretary Matt Hancock has rejected the allegations levelled at him by Dominic Cummings.
Cummings accused the health secretary of performing “disastrously” below the standards expected and the cabinet secretary – the country’s top civil servant – had recommended he be sacked.
“I think the secretary of state for health should’ve been fired for at least 15, 20 things, including lying to everybody on multiple occasions in meeting after meeting in the Cabinet room and publicly,” Cummings said.
“There’s no doubt at all that many senior people performed far, far disastrously below the standards which the country has a right to expect. I think the secretary of state for health is certainly one of those people.”
A spokesman for Hancock said: “At all times throughout this pandemic the secretary of state for Health and Social Care and everyone in DHSC has worked incredibly hard in unprecedented circumstances to protect the NHS and save lives.
“We absolutely reject Cummings’ claims about the health secretary.
“The health secretary will continue to work closely with the prime minister to deliver the vaccine rollout, tackle the risks posed by variants and support the NHS and social care sector to recover from this pandemic.”
Hancock is expected to lead a Downing Street press conference on Thursday.
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