The journalist who leaked more than 100,000 WhatsApp messages from Matt Hancock to the Telegraph claims the former health minister sent her a “threatening message” when he learned of what she had done.
Isabel Oakeshott was given access to the messages while ghostwriting Mr Hancock’s book Pandemic Diaries, but said she felt compelled to share them with the paper because information that is in the ‘public interest’ was omitted from the memoir .
Ms Oakeshott revealed last night that she had not informed the ex-minister of the leak in advance, saying he found out about it ‘late (Tuesday) evening’.
To enrol The Telegraphshe described the message as “threatening” as she launched a new defense of her actions by focusing on the impact of the pandemic on children.
On Wednesday, she told Piers Morgan Uncensored on TalkTV, “I got a somewhat threatening message at 1:20 am.”
Isabel Oakeshott (right) received the messages from Matt Hancock (left) when she helped him write his memoir Pandemic Diaries
The journalist claims she received a ‘threatening’ and ‘threatening’ message from the former health minister at 1:20 a.m. on Wednesday
But when she was urged to reveal the contents of that message, Ms Oakeshott refused to do so, saying: “It’s easy to summarize whether or not Matt Hancock is my friend right now.”
She added: “I think he’s very concerned about how to respond to this, but this isn’t about him.”
Mr Hancock would “consider all options” in response to the leak.
“She violated a legal non-disclosure agreement. Her behavior is outrageous,” said a source close to the former health minister.
Representatives for Mr. Hancock have been contacted for comment.
Yesterday Ms Oakeshott confirmed that she had breached a non-disclosure agreement with Mr Hancock – although she argued her action was predominantly in the ‘public interest’.
She wrote, “In one way or another, much material that is predominantly in the public interest and relevant to the public inquiry was suppressed (from Pandemic Diaries).”
The claim of the ‘threatening message’ came as follows the Telegraph published further revelations of the WhatsApps on Wednesday night.
They detailed comments by the then Health Secretary to former Education Secretary Sir Gavin Williamson in which he called education unions ‘absolute a**es’.
Sir Gavin is said to have replied, ‘They really just hate work’.
Following the publication of the posts, the former education secretary tweeted that his comments had been “about some unions and not teachers.”
He added, “I have the utmost respect for teachers who work tirelessly to support students.
“During the pandemic, teachers did their very best in very challenging times and they continue to do so.”
A source close to Mr Hancock said yesterday that Ms Oakeshott broke a non-disclosure agreement by sharing the posts
Further details about the government’s decision on school closures were also released on Wednesday evening.
A spokesman for Mr Hancock said: ‘Tonight’s (Wednesday) revelations are exactly the same as last night’s. These are partial accounts, clearly spun with an agenda.
“They show that Matt was focused on saving lives all along. The right place for a full assessment is the (official Covid) investigation.’
Leaked messages appeared Tuesday night apparently showed Mr Hancock rejected the Chief Medical Officer’s call to test all residents going to UK care homes for Covid at the beginning of the pandemic.
Mr Hancock’s representatives have vehemently opposed this ‘distorted’ impression, saying he ‘supported’ Whitty’s advice but was told it was ‘impracticable’ but urged those coming from hospitals to be tested.
Sir Chris Whitty told him there should be Covid tests for ‘all those going into care homes’ – but Mr Hancock’s WhatsApp messages showed he was not following the guidelines, instead telling advisers it’s ‘ muddy the waters’.
The message shows that in April 2020, Sir Chris demanded ‘testing of everyone who goes into care homes’.
After initially supporting guidance, Mr Hancock seemed to change his mind, telling aides: ‘I’d rather drop it and just commit to testing and isolating ALL who go into care from hospital.
“I don’t think community involvement adds anything and obscures it.”
Mr Hancock denied the ‘twisted account’ with a spokesperson claiming that the messages leaked by journalist Ms Oakeshott after she worked on his Pandemic Diaries memoir were ‘spun to fit an anti-lockdown agenda’.
The spokesperson said: ‘Because we were not approached in advance by the Telegraph, we reviewed the messages from one day to the next.
‘De Telegraaf has deliberately excluded the reference to a meeting with the test team from WhatsApp. This is critical because Matt supported Chris Whitty’s advice, held a meeting about its deliverability, said it was not deliverable, and insisted that everyone coming out of hospitals should be tested.
The Telegraph has been informed that their headline is wrong and Matt is considering all options available to him.
“This major mistake by Isabel Oakeshott and the Telegraph shows why the proper place for analysis like this is in the investigation, not a partial, agenda-driven leak of confidential documents.”
