The cabinet blame game has begun – but Matt Hancock may yet escape unscathed | Katy Balls
Unmet coronavirus test promises have put the health secretary in the firing line. But scientists may be made the real scapegoats
When Boris Johnson was recovering in hospital after his admission to intensive care, he was advised not to work. There was no suggestion this time from No 10 that he would even be supplied with a red box. The prime minister's decision to work remotely following his coronavirus diagnosis seemed misjudged given how he deteriorated, so there was an effort to get him to watch films rather than look at paperwork. However, he did manage to call a handful of ministers - one of whom was Matt Hancock.
The beleaguered health secretary has been in the news this week as a potential "fall guy" for the government over its handling of coronavirus. Among the hostile briefings, a No 10 source complained to the Telegraph that Hancock's promise in a press conference earlier this month of 100,000 tests by the end of the month would "come back to bite him" and suggested the figure was "arbitrary". Meanwhile, senior Tories are speculating that he will be moved from his brief before any public inquiry.
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