According to the latest tranche of Matt Hancock’s leaked messages, former education secretary Sir Gavin Williamson stated that some schools wanted to close during the Covid pandemic so staff would have an ‘excuse’ not to work.
The ministers exchanged WhatsApp messages in May 2020, as ministers and teachers prepared for lessons to resume as usual following the first national lockdown.
According to messages published by The Telegraph, Sir Gavin asked Mr Hancock for assistance in obtaining PPE for schools, adding, ‘Some will just want to say they can’t [open] so they have an excuse to avoid having to teach, what joys!!!
Those comments contrast with public statements at the time thanking teachers for their ‘outstanding work’ and praising them for ‘going above and beyond the call of duty’.
Months later, Mr Hancock messaged Sir Gavin congratulating him on getting A-level exams delayed for a few weeks, writing: ‘Cracking announcement today. What a bunch of absolute arses the teaching unions are.’
Sir Gavin responded: ‘I know they really really do just hate work.’
The then-Health Secretary replied with two laughing emojis alongside a bullseye.
Following their publication by The Telegraph, 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.’
A spokesman for Mr Hancock said: ‘Tonight’s revelations are exactly like last night’s. These are partial accounts, obviously spun with an agenda.
‘They show Matt was focused throughout on saving lives. The right place for a full assessment is the (official Covid) inquiry.’
The tranche of more than 100,000 WhatsApp messages was passed to the paper by the journalist Isabel Oakeshott, who was given the material by Mr Hancock when they were working together on a book about his time in government during the pandemic.