Matt Hancock roasted for ‘promising a Covid plan that never existed’ – while Boris was ‘laughing at the Italians’

MATT Hancock was a serial liar during Covid, a top mandarin claimed today.

And the hapless Health Secretary displayed “nuclear levels of confidence” – even likening himself to a star cricketer knocking the pandemic out of the park. 

Ex-Whitehall boss Helen MacNamara also revealed that not a day went by in No10 when lockdown rules were not broken. 

Her evidence to the Covid inquiry lifted the lid on rife sexism at the heart of government – alleging a lack of women in key posts could have cost lives.

The then Deputy Cabinet Secretary was especially brutal about Mr Hancock, who she said “time and time again” promised Cabinet he had a pandemic plan which did not exist.

She said the former Health Secretary would often assure something was absolutely fine only to then discover “it was very, very far from fine”.

During her grilling, she agreed he would “regularly” tell people things which later transpired were not true.

But Ms MacNamara said Mr Hancock – eventually forced to quit following the Sun’s exposure of his lockdown-busting affair – would demonstrate “jarring” cockiness. 

She recalled: “He reassured me that he was ‘loving responsibility’ and to demonstrate this took up a batsman’s stance outside the cabinet room, and said, ‘they bowl them at me, I knock them away’.”

Ms MacNamara – who was memorably fined for bringing a karaoke machine to a lockdown party – expressed “profound regret” yesterday.

She said she would “find it hard to pick one day when the regulations are followed properly inside that building”.

Her witness statement further lashed out at a “macho” culture in No10 where she sometimes felt “patronised” for raising flaws.

She said in the early days Boris Johnson was “laughing at the Italians” for locking down and had a “jovial tone” and “breezy confidence” about the virus.

Suggesting a lack of female decision-makers contributed to a lack of help for domestic abuse victims during lockdown, she added: “It is very difficult to draw any conclusion other than women have died as a result of this.”

Ms MacNamara further hit back at Dominic Cummings for a “horrible” c-bomb rant against her.

He said: “I don’t care how it is done but that woman must be out of our hair.”

The No10 chief said they could not tackle Covid while “dodging stilettos from that c***”.

Cummings later apologised for his “appalling language” in after being left red faced chief inquiry lawyer Hugh Keith KC.

In separate texts Mr Johnson accused him of presiding over an “orgy of narcissism” after briefing against his wife Carrie to the media.