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Matt Hancock supported threatening to block a disability centre in a Tory MP’s constituency in a bid to get him to vote for the Covid tier system in England, leaked messages suggest.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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WhatsApp messages show Mr Hancock agreed to put pressure on James Daly, Conservative MP for Bury North, if he failed to vote with the government.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Mr Hancock’s spokesperson said: “What has been accused here never happened.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Mr Daly said he was “very disappointed” to learn about the exchange.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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However, speaking to BBC Radio Manchester, he said the threat was not carried out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Asked how he would have responded if such a conversation had taken place, the MP said: “I would have told him where to go, and reported matters to a higher authority.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“To think somebody would use potential funding that could help someone vulnerable in our community to get votes for the government is just not acceptable.” <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Ex-Conservative Party chair Sir Jake Berry accused Mr Hancock of “weaponising the provision of care to young disabled people” and said it “crosses a line of what’s acceptable in public life”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He said the former health secretary had been “drunk on power”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\n- Hancock messages suggest plan to frighten public<\/li>\n
- Texts show Hancock concern at isolation relaxation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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In messages leaked to the Daily Telegraph, Mr Hancock’s political aide Allan Nixon suggested putting pressure on MPs elected in 2019 whose “re-election hinges” on central government funding. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Mr Nixon proposed warning Mr Daly that funding for a new centre for disabled children and adults in his constituency would be “off the table” if he voted against new plans for a stricter tiered lockdown on 1 December 2020.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Mr Hancock replied: “Yes 100%.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Mr Daly told the Telegraph he was unaware the Department for Health and Social Care had plans to give Bury North a disability hub, which would provide specialists with a dedicated centre for co-ordinating local activity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Under the December 2020 tier scheme, every area of England was put into one of three tiers – medium (one), high (two) and very high (three) – with the vast majority of the population in the higher two tiers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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According to the paper, leaked messages show Mr Daly was more concerned with support for pubs in areas placed in the higher tiers because they were unable to serve food.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Under the system, bars in tier two were only allowed to stay open if they served “substantial meals”, while those in tier three could only provide takeaways or deliveries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n