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From his secure fortress of contented spite, Dominic Cummings, exiled from the power he once wielded at number 10 as one of the chosen ones, must have felt a sense of satisfaction. Biliously, the former top official of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had despised the now former British health secretary during a performance in front of MPs for hours. Matt Hancock, Cummings explained last month, could have been fired for a number of things he did in response to the pandemic.
The story shifting from its tragic gear to that of farce, Hancock resigned. There were all the makings of a tabloid: the name of the minister (Hancock), an assistant, kisses, a leaky mole and CCTV. But leaving was not so much for a lie or lack of competence as a reckless moment in violation of COVID-19 regulations. As the country continued to pursue a lockdown that was expected to ease significantly on June 21, a camera recording the health secretary kissing his assistant, Gina Coladangelo, has been leaked. Camera footage of the office incident was recorded on May 6.
Johnson was never going to fire his minister for incompetence. The leader has set the precedent for others to follow. According to Avenger Cummings, he took a hail of 89 texts from Johnson’s wife, Carrie, to reduce support. Hancock was left to fall on his sword, which he took a long time to do.
In his resignation letter, the priorities are reversed. “The last thing I want is my private life to distract from the purposeful goal that gets us out of this crisis.” The real reason comes later. “I want to reiterate my apologies for breaking the guidelines and apologize to my family and loved ones for putting them through this.” The people who had “sacrificed so much in this pandemic” had to be honest “when we let them down like I did by violating these guidelines.” Time expressed the laconic opinion that such conduct suggested that “the government tolerates violations of lockdown rules for itself, while insisting that the public adhere to higher standards.”
With a miniaturized overview of Hancock’s conduct (violation of social distancing rules, various questionable staff appointments – the list goes on), Brandon Lewis, Secretary of Northern Ireland, could now focus on the important issues : discover how CCTV images found their way into the pages of this eternal malicious newspaper of poor reputation, The sun. The culprit is said to be lurking in the halls of the Department of Health and Social Affairs (DHSC).
British news outlets have suggested the leak manager made contact via Instagram with an anonymous anti-lockdown activist. “I have some very damning CCTV footage of someone who has been classified as completely desperate. If you want more information, please contact me. The same newspaper provided readers with all the details, leaving little to the imagination. Included was a gross expense of Hancock’s office, including the positioning of the Union Jack, the queen’s painting, a bookshelf, a coat rack and, it turns out, the “Kissing Door”.
On Sky News, Lewis made clear the government’s priorities. “I saw some of the reports this morning describing how different journalists think the recording could have been broadcast. It’s definitely a question that I know the Department of Health will be looking at to understand exactly how it got recorded, how it got out of the system. This is something we have to get to the bottom of. ”
In comments which can only induce smirks of derision, Lewis preferred to focus on the principle that what has happened in “government departments can be sensitive, important and people should be trusted that what is happening. in a ministry is something that allows the government to focus on these fundamental issues, and sometimes sensitivity in the sense of the security of these issues.
Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt was also busy drawing attention to the things that mattered – at least from a government perspective. By disclosing footage of Hancock’s intimate moment, the leaker may well have come close to breaking the Official Secrets Act. Pretending to pay homage to “open society” and protections “for whistleblowers who find out about things and publish them in the public interest,” Hunt told the Andrew Marr Show what really bothered him. “[W]We need to understand how this happened and make sure ministers are safe in their offices, so that we can have conversations that they know will not be disclosed to hostile powers.
Feverish panic swept through Johnson’s cabinet, with ministers fearing they would be Hancocked next. The Minister of Justice, Robert Buckland, revealed that sweeps were being organized to identify any filming or listening device which would have escaped detection. “I think there is an important principle here about the need for ministers and officials who often handle very sensitive documents and information to have a safe space in which to work.”
Calls for inquiry did not stop at the issue of ministerial breach of trust. The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, wanted to bring back the debate on the violation of those same regulations that government ministers had insisted the British follow. “What is important now is that there are proper investigations into the rules that have been broken with regard to the use of private email, with regard to the appointment of senior managers and also with regard to the use of private email. which concerns the rules of social distancing. ”
Hancock had certainly built himself a fortress of irregularities during the pandemic. the Sunday opening hours, after seeing the minutes of various meetings, noted that the minister has been using a private email address since March 2020 to conduct ministerial correspondence, making accountability for decisions about the novel coronavirus slippery at best.
The deflectors were also moving away. Those who sympathized with Hancock in government were appalled at the very existence of a camera in the office. Had he been the victim of a sting orchestrated by enemies in issue 10? Or did an indiscreet power like China wish to cause a stir by installing a “love bug” catching the clinch?
The blissful Mail on Sunday poured water on foul play suggestions. “In fact, photos taken in September 2017, just before Hancock moved in, show that the camera that captured the melee is clearly visible on the ceiling of his office.” But the Tories were also looking for another alibi that, if not exonerates Hancock, at least distracted from his conduct.
To this end, suspicion began to grow with comments about the brand of the camera. Although leased from a Singaporean company, it is from Chinese manufacturer Hikvision, a company contracted to supply surveillance equipment to authorities in China’s Xinjiang region. Despite being blacklisted by Washington in October 2019 for its role in monitoring Uyghurs in the region’s network of “re-education camps”, cities, counties and schools across the United States have done so. good use during the pandemic. In Great Britain, city councils employ them in public spaces.
The China Research Group, led by conservative lawmakers eager to stoke fears about China, clarified Hikvision’s role in the Hancock affair in a statement. “There are questions whether [Hikvision cameras] are currently in use at Portcullis House (where MPs have their offices) and the Palace of Westminster (where the House of Lords and the House of Commons are located). The group feared “the potential for Chinese intelligence agencies to exploit camera feeds in sensitive locations.”
The nature and extent of the upcoming investigation is uncertain. A thorough, unrestrained investigation may well reveal a little more than the Department of Health might want to reveal. Investigators run the risk of glorifying a potential whistleblower while uncovering much of the rot at the center of Johnson’s government. And few officials, and certainly no government politician, would like to see this.
Dr Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Fellow at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He teaches at RMIT University in Melbourne. E-mail: [email protected]
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