Inside Politics – Coronavirus special: Matt Hancock faces scrutiny over testing ‘missteps’

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Tuesday 19 May 2020 07:58 BST

Everyone aged five and over with symptoms now eligible for Covid-19 test

“All losses are restored and sorrows end,” goes one of Shakespeare’s most famous sonnets. Fans of the bard may have to prepare themselves for a big loss: the Globe theatre is at risk of closing on a permanent basis because of the pandemic-induced slump. Health secretary Matt Hancock is determined the ongoing drama over the government’s “test, track and trace” programme will not turn into a tragedy. But critics claim there are still plenty of final act problems to resolve before a contact-tracing app can be rolled out across the nation. I’m Adam Forrest, and welcome to The Independent’s daily Inside Politics briefing during the coronavirus crisis.

Inside the bubble

Our chief political correspondent John Rentoul on what to look out for today:

Quiet day in the House of Commons: George Eustice and his team will be answering questions about the environment, food and rural affairs. William Hague, former foreign secretary, and Samantha Power, former US ambassador to the UN, give evidence to the foreign affairs select committee. More virtual committee action in the House of Lords, with witnesses including chancellor Rishi Sunak and John Edmunds, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies.

Daily briefing

TESTING TIMES: Everyone over the age of five with coronavirus symptoms is now eligible for a test, Matt Hancock has announced. The health secretary told us 21,000 people had been recruited to run contact-tracing, though there is was no guarantee the much-hyped app will be ready by the end of the month. People on the Isle of Wight – 60,000 of whom have downloaded it – have raised potential problems: the app doesn’t actually let users know if the person they have had contact with ends up testing positive. Labour said the tracing programme had seen “misstep after misstep”. More serious criticism comes from the science and technology committee. Chair Greg Clark has sent a damning report on testing failures to the prime minister – arguing that the “pivotal” decision to abandon community testing and tracing on 12 March allowed the virus to spread rapidly through care homes.

CLAP TRAP: Labour has urged the government to rethink “unfair” new immigration rules which pose a threat to NHS and the care staff, after the immigration bill returned to the Commons. Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds, said it was hypocritical for ministers to clap for health workers every Thursday evening only to tell many of them they are “unwelcome” because they’re deemed low-skilled. Former Tory minister Caroline Noakes called for a more cautious, “phased” approach to ending free movement after the Brexit transition period. Elsewhere, the ONS has revealed the number of people claiming unemployment benefit soared by 856,500 in April – taking the total claimant count to 2.097 million. Chancellor Rishi Sunak told MPs two million people had applied to the grants scheme for the self-employed (with claims amounting to £6bn).

INTO THIN AIR: The transport secretary Grant Shapps has finally confirmed that quarantine restrictions for international travellers arriving in the UK will apply from early June. The government plans to ask most overseas visitors to isolate for 14-days. Shapps told MPs a “blanket situation” will be in place initially, but talks are ongoing about how rules could be relaxed for countries with low Covid-19 rates – raising the possibility of so-called “air bridges”. Meanwhile, the loss of taste and smell has finally been added to official coronavirus symptoms. Anyone experiencing anosmia is now advised to stay at home for seven days. Professor Nirmal Kumar, from the ear, nose and throat specialist body ENT UK, said the change was “better late than never … we had been asking for this almost eight weeks ago.”

I’M STILL STANDING: Donald Trump revealed that he has been taking the malaria medication hydroxychloroquine to ward off coronavirus – even though US health officials have already warned it could be unsafe. “I’m taking it for about a week and a half now and I’m still here, I’m still here,” he told reporters. Asked what evidence he had for the drug’s benefits, Trump said: “Here’s my evidence: I get a lot of positive calls about it ... I’m not going to get hurt by it.” The Food and Drug Administration last month warned hydroxychloroquine has “not been shown to be safe and effective” – citing reports it can cause heart rhythm problems in Covid-19 patients. Just for good measure, Trump claimed the World Health Organisation was a “puppet of China”.

OPEN BOOK: Chinese president Xi Jinping defended his country’s handling of the initial outbreak, and pledged to give £1.6bn to the global fight against the virus. “All along we have acted with openness, transparency and responsibility,” he told the World Health Assembly – the decision making body of the World Health Organisation. “We have provided information to the WHO and relevant countries in a most timely fashion.” The director general of the WHO, meanwhile, promised that there would be an independent inquiry into his agency’s handling of the pandemic. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the process would begin at the “earliest appropriate moment”.

THE BORROWERS: French president Emmanuel Macron and the German chancellor Angela Merkel have put forward a recovery fund worth around £447bn to help EU countries hardest hit by the current crisis. Following their video call, the two leaders said the plan would involve the EU borrowing money in financial markets to help particular sectors and regions. The money would then come in the form of grants rather than loans. “Because of the unusual nature of the crisis we are choosing an unusual path,” Merkel told reporters following the joint announcement. Macron said the borrowing proposal was a way “to make Europe move forward”. The new fund still requires approval by all 27 members.

On the record

“If we do discover a vaccine against Covid-19, everyone must have access to it … Human health cannot be quarrelled over.”

French president Emmanuel Macron wants the world to share any effective vaccine.

From the Twitterati

“If the kind of immigration restrictions and hurdles that Priti Patel is so keen on had been applied to her own parents, she probably wouldn’t be a British citizen today, let alone the Home Secretary.”

Mehdi Hasan suggests the home secretary rethink the immigration bill...

“Priti Patel’s compromise on immigration bill. Clap the NHS workers as they are being deported from the country.”

…but The Guardian’s John Crace doesn’t think she’ll bother.