The former chief of NHS England has told the Covid enquiry that Matt Hancock wanted to play God by deciding “who should live and who should die” if hospitals became overwhelmed.
Lord Stevens who was in charge of NHS England until 2021 had refused to criticise Hancock.
In his witness statement to the inquiry, he said, “The secretary of state for health and social care took the position that in this situation he rather than, say, the medical profession or the public should ultimately decide who should live and who should die.
“Fortunately, this horrible dilemma never crystallised.”
Providing evidence to the inquiry, he added, “I certainly wanted to discourage the idea that an individual secretary of state, other than in the most exceptional circumstances, should be deciding how care would be provided.
“I felt that we are well served by the medical profession, in consultation with patients to the greatest extent possible, in making those kinds of decisions.”
WhatsApp messages shared with the Covid enquiry showed that Dominic Cummings was pressing Boris Johnson to sack Hancock.
Cummings has claimed that Hancock had “lied his way through this and killed people and dozens and dozens of people have seen it.”
