Matt Hancock denies claims of Rishi Sunak feud
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Health secretary Matt Hancock has denied reports of a feud between himself and chancellor Rishi Sunak over the government’s coronavirus strategy.
The Mail on Sunday reported today that the pair were engaged in a feud over when to lift the UK’s lockdown and get the economy back to normal.
Sunak reportedly had made presentations to Hancock on the long-term economic damage to the UK if there is no exit-strategy mapped out to get past the strict social distancing measures in place.
Sources told the Mail that some in Sunak’s camp thought Hancock was so worried about being blamed for a collapse in the NHS that he was blinded to to the potential economic fallout from the UK’s effective lockdown.
Hancock allies, meanwhile, said he was just doing his job.
The health secretary rubbished the claim that he was embroiled in a feud with Sunak.
Speaking to Sky News, he said: “We’re working very closely together.”
Boris Johnson announced stringent social distancing measures two weeks ago, with a promise that they would be reviewed in three weeks’ time.
All indications from the government and its experts are that the measures will be continued for at least the next two months.
The economic damage from the coronavirus outbreak has already begun to hit, despite a raft of economic relief packages announced by Sunak.
The IHS Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the UK plunged to 34.5 in March, indicating the largest monthly decline in the manufacturing and service sectors since records began in 1996.
An Opinium poll showed last week that one-in-five small businesses are on the verge of collapse, while almost one million people have applied for universal credit since 16 March – a tenfold increase from normal levels.