Matt Hancock….

I'm not trying to defend anybody, but what concerns me is that Cummings has released hundreds of private WhatsApp messages into the public domain. Is that even legal? Surely private Government messages, letters, documents etc. are protected by the Official Secrets Act, so how is this even possible? I am astonished and worried, because if these can be released then what else can be released? It could result in a breach of national security.

Should govt messages be sent on WhatsApp. Surely they should have secure email or something.

I think most people consider WhatsApp to be secure theworriedwell - from journalists at least - as it is encripted before it leaves your device. Having seen some of the governments IT undertakings they may well be safer using it.

I don't think Cummings has a "stop" button Chestnut nor a "stick to the rules" one. But they did know that before he was given the job.

Now we know why Hancock has always looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Everyone around him, including the PM , regarded him as useless, but for whatever bizarre political reasons, he was kept in the job despite being totally out of his depth.

Since Johnson’s default way of speech is hyperbole - fantastic, terrific, world-beating - , when things are adequate at best, it may work in reverse as well. So when he says someone is useless, he may actually mean that they’re doing a reasonable job.

It does occur to me that he just happened to be in situ *and nobody else would take it on*?

That should have come out bold ??‍♀️

Is that even legal?

Seeing that various government acts by ministers in the past year or so have been found to be 'unlawful' , Chestnut, I think it's a bit late to be worrying about 'legality' now.

Hallelujah! I've thought maybe I'm getting the wrong end of the stick! It all seems total madness.

Proves again Bojo picked 'yes men'.

Glad to see others are thinking the same so I presume across the nation too. Somethings got to give - surely?

Then there's the swearing issue - I always thought it was unacceptable in a work environment; in my lowly job it would result in a disciplinary at the very least.

Ro60 - this is the problem with giving jobs to "mates".
The f*ing and blinding is seen as chummy probably.

PippaZ

I think most people consider WhatsApp to be secure theworriedwell - from journalists at least - as it is encripted before it leaves your device. Having seen some of the governments IT undertakings they may well be safer using it.

I don't think Cummings has a "stop" button Chestnut nor a "stick to the rules" one. But they did know that before he was given the job.

I didn't know it was encripted but I just thought they should use some sort of official channel. Maybe it was because of all the fuss about Hilary Clinton using her private email instead of the govt one but of course different country different rules.

varian

Now we know why Hancock has always looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Everyone around him, including the PM , regarded him as useless, but for whatever bizarre political reasons, he was kept in the job despite being totally out of his depth.

I've never been a fan but I do feel a bit sorry for him. No one would feel happy reading that about themselves. It wasn't an appropriate way to speak about someone you work with.

JaneJudge

They took it off her notes in January theworriedwell when we had her annual LD clinic. She has had both her vaccinations and is indeed well. It is appalling though. We work SO hard for her to have a 'normal' and independent and happy life as possible and yet it was deemed necessary by government bodies to judge her wrt to the frailty scale I don't bloody think so

I'm so glad she is well, it must have been so hard for you. I can't believe how they have behaved. I know people go mad if you compare things to the Nazis but this was their attitude to the people with LD, I hope the govt have learned their lesson and don't try to go down that route again.

There’s something weird going on here. Cummings has always been close to Gove. I’m sure someone said today there had been talk of replacing Hancock with Gove. Hancock is rubbish. But no more so than the rest of them. He’s just the scapegoat. They’re going to blame the whole pandemic debacle on him.

They’re going to blame the whole pandemic debacle on him.

If the PM said, over a year ago, that Hancock was effing hopeless and then left him in post, then I think that the PM might just get a teensy bit of the blame, too.

That’s true.

When thieves fall out who knows what to believe? Cummings is a very clever manipulative person who may well have some hidden agenda. We still don’t know really why he was in Barnards Castle. Hancock does come across as weak but it appears he was the one prompting spending money developing a vaccine. Johnson is also clever although he comes across as a bumbling idiot and we don’t know if he really meant Hancock was hopeless. We have all probably said this about somebody at sometime. As it is Hancock is still in post. Maybe he was just a mouthpiece and now a possible easy scapegoat.There is probably a lot more to come out when we have a full inquiry into the handling of the pandemic.

Avalon,
We have all probably said this about somebody at sometime
No, I don't think so.
I would never say someone was hopeless (let alone f**** hopeless) unless I really believed they were.

MayBee70

There’s something weird going on here. Cummings has always been close to Gove. I’m sure someone said today there had been talk of replacing Hancock with Gove. Hancock is rubbish. But no more so than the rest of them. He’s just the scapegoat. They’re going to blame the whole pandemic debacle on him.

I think part of his calculation (and I belong to the camp who believes that if he were half as clever as he thinks he his he'd be twice as clever as anyone else) is that if Gove becomes PM (No....!!!!) the he could be rehabilitated.

I have said it in a work situation when I have believed someone has let me down on a particular occasion. It didn’t mean I thought that all of the time.

NotSpaghetti

*Avalon*,
We have all probably said this about somebody at sometime
No, I don't think so.
I would never say someone was hopeless (let alone f**** hopeless) unless I really believed they were.

No I've never said it although it might have been appropriate at times.

if Gove becomes PM (No....!!!!) the he could be rehabilitated.

I still don't understand why Gove is considered to be a shoe in if we got rid of Johnson. There has to be a leadership contest and I don't think Gove has enough support in the tory party to win it.

Perhaps, though, Cummings is planning to run his leadership campaign. He's got a good track record for running winning campaigns

Isn’t Murdoch still behind Gove?

It is time that the Tories had a complete clear out of all the current cabinet. Every single one of them is either marred with corruption, been found guilty of a misdemeanour or totally dim.

Unfortunately they can’t because they got rid of pretty much every Conservative MP that had morals and decency before the last election. The decent ones eg Rory Stewart wouldn’t serve under a leader they found to be a liar.