“I’m A Celebrity” MP Matt Hancock to stand down at next election

[Englishboy]

Matt Hancock to stand down as MP amid local criticism

It comes as some Tory members in his Suffolk constituency say the MP is "not fit to represent" them.

www.bbc.co.uk

Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced he will not be standing as an MP at the next general election.

He was suspended as a Conservative MP after taking part in the ITV reality show I'm A Celebrity
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In a letter to Rishi Sunak, Mr Hancock said he had "discovered a whole new world of possibilities which I am excited to explore".

He added that politicians need to find "new ways to reach people" outside Parliament.

He concluded his letter by saying it had been "an honour to serve in Parliament and represent the people of West Suffolk".

"I will play my part in the debate about the future of our country and engage with the public in new ways," he said.

 

[Angela Channing]

He shouldn't be exploring "a whole new world of possibilities", he should be on trial for corporate manslaughter for his negligence during the Covid crisis.

 

[Englishboy]

I wonder if he jumped before he was pushed.

Apparently, his local Tory association were preparing to oust him and prevent him from standing as their candidate at the next general election.

Matt Hancock won't stand for the Conservatives in next general election

MATT Hancock will quit as an MP at the next general election after his appearance on I’m A Celebrity sparked a local Tory plot to oust him. The former Health Secretary today announced he was …

www.thesun.co.uk

 

[9unfold]

No great loss to public life.

be on trial for corporate manslaughter for his negligence during the Covid crisis.

How was his office negligent? The pandemic was a dynamic and ever evolving situation. Acting on the advice at the time in good faith is not negligence in public office, and I doubt that his actions in the position he held would make the legal test for a prosecution with reasonable prospects of securing a conviction.

Going on I'm A Celebrity.... while seated in public office was outrageous.

 

[Angela Channing]

How was his office negligent? The pandemic was a dynamic and ever evolving situation. Acting on the advice at the time in good faith is not negligence in public office, and I doubt that his actions in the position he held would make the legal test for a prosecution with reasonable prospects of securing a conviction.

I believe Matt Hancock was negligent because he ordered hospitals to discharge patients to care homes without testing them first for Covid. This is thought to have lead to tens of thousands of elderly patients to have died unnecessarily from onward transmission. The High Court has already ruled his actions as being unlawful but as we know from Partygate, breaking the law isn't always sufficient for the police to bring charges against the law breakers.

Covid: Discharging untested patients to care homes 'unlawful'

The High Court says government policies did not take into account transmission risks to the elderly.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[9unfold]

I believe Matt Hancock was negligent because he ordered hospitals to discharge patients to care homes

Do we know how that order was formulated, what considerations and all other factors fed into the decision? Do we know how many lives were saved by this decision to free up hospital beds?

The findings that this action was unlawful is still not sufficient to bring a prosecution with reasonable prospects for a conviction in criminal court.

If you were in his position, with the virus spreading rapidly and hospital beds blocked by elderly patients. What would you have done?

 

[Angela Channing]

Do we know how that order was formulated, what considerations and all other factors fed into the decision? Do we know how many lives were saved by this decision to free up hospital beds?

The findings that this action was unlawful is still not sufficient to bring a prosecution with reasonable prospects for a conviction in criminal court.

If you were in his position, with the virus spreading rapidly and hospital beds blocked by elderly patients. What would you have done?

I wouldn't have voted to underfund the NHS and social care since 2010 to leave it in such a dire state before the pandemic started. If I had to discharge patients to free up beds, I would tested them first to see if they had covid. I would have moved them to a quarantine centre for 14 days before allowing them to go to care homes alongside frail and vulnerable people. These are just common sense measures and do not require anyone to be an expert in the field to make them.

Because of the way that viruses spread, in the case of covid one infected person would pass it on to 2.5 others an so on, significantly more (possibly exponentially more) people would have died from Covid in care homes compared with those who were saved by the freeing up of hospital beds.

Matt Hancock presided over running down the NHS and when the Covid hit he panicked over the shortage of beds which lead to his poor decision making which killed thousands of people. The decision to discharge the virus into care homes was taken by him so he must carry the can and he can't hide behind others. The police should have launched an enquiry after the High Court found his decision to be unlawful and gathered evidence to charge him. Hopefully, they will do so if the public enquiry reaches the same conclusion as the High Court.

 

[9unfold]

I wouldn't have voted to underfund the NHS and social care since 2010 to leave it in such a dire state before the pandemic started. If I had to discharge patients to free up beds, I would tested them first to see if they had covid. I would have moved them to a quarantine centre for 14 days before allowing them to go to care homes alongside frail and vulnerable people. These are just common sense measures and do not require anyone to be an expert in the field to make them.

Because of the way that viruses spread, in the case of covid one infected person would pass it on to 2.5 others an so on, significantly more (possibly exponentially more) people would have died from Covid in care homes compared with those who were saved by the freeing up of hospital beds.

Matt Hancock presided over running down the NHS and when the Covid hit he panicked over the shortage of beds which lead to his poor decision making which killed thousands of people. The decision to discharge the virus into care homes was taken by him so he must carry the can and he can't hide behind others. The police should have launched an enquiry after the High Court found his decision to be unlawful and gathered evidence to charge him. Hopefully, they will do so if the public enquiry reaches the same conclusion as the High Court.

With the benefit of hindsight the fails are clearly seen. Presiding over the NHS is a thankless task. Difficult in the best of times.

He had good reason to panic when the pandemic struck and limited resources available to fire fight. Quarantine centres don't pop up over night and the need to free up beds was immediate.

The ultimate responsibility for the provision of rests with him. But I don't think he made reckless or negligent decisions given the nature and constantly changing understanding of the Covid virus and how it spread.

 

[Angela Channing]

With the benefit of hindsight the fails are clearly seen. Presiding over the NHS is a thankless task. Difficult in the best of times.

He had good reason to panic when the pandemic struck and limited resources available to fire fight. Quarantine centres don't pop up over night and the need to free up beds was immediate.

The ultimate responsibility for the provision of rests with him. But I don't think he made reckless or negligent decisions given the nature and constantly changing understanding of the Covid virus and how it spread.

Well, we are going to have to agree to disagree.

Hancock didn't have to panic, the government had previously ran a pandemic simulation to prepare for that eventuality and avoid panic. The Tories, first Jeremy Hunt and then Hancock, chose not to implement the recommendations of the simulation because they prioritised austerity cuts above preparedness to save lives. I think that is unforgivable.