Leaked messages indicate that Matt Hancock backed threatening to shut down a disability center in a Tory MP’s district in an effort to sway him to endorse the Covid tier system in England.
According to WhatsApp exchanges, Mr. Hancock agreed to exert pressure on Bury North’s Conservative MP James Daly if he refused to support the administration.
The spokeswoman for Matt Hancock stated: “What has been alleged here never happened.”
Allan Nixon, a political staffer to Mr. Hancock, advised applying pressure to MPs whose “re-election depends” on funds from the federal government in messages that were disclosed to the media.
“An absolute disgrace,” declared Sir Jake Berry, a former chair of the Tory Party.
Mr. Nixon suggested giving Mr. Daly a heads-up that financing for a new facility for adults and children with disabilities in his district would be “off the table” if he voted against revised proposals for a tighter tiered lockdown on December 1, 2020.
“Absolutely,” Mr. Hancock retorted, “100%.”