WhatsApp correspondence centres on then health secretary’s fight to save career after Sun published picture of clinch
, show Hancock discussing the guidance in place at the time and deciding what his initial response to media questions should be.
In his diaries, worked on with Oakeshott and published last year, Hancock said he resigned as health secretary after colleagues failed to defend him publicly. The messages show Hancock and his advisers discussing among themselves and liaising with No 10 about how to respond to the story, amid an unfolding political storm.
Referring to the social distancing rule to keep 1 metre apart from others when 2 metres was not possible, Hancock said: “Other than obviously the 1m+ I honestly can’t think of any.” He then said that the worst thing he and Coladangelo could be accused of was that they had “kissed before they legalised hugs”.
The messages also show that Hancock asked Poole to “keep the focus” on whether Coladangelo’s appointment as a paid adviser had broken any rules, rather than whether their embrace had broken social distancing restrictions.
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