Facts

Matt Hancock denied claiming to have “thrown a protective ring around care homes” from the start of the pandemic – despite saying it live on television.

On the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Mr Hancock was asked: “That phrase ‘protective ring’ - do you at least regret that, it wasn’t true was it?”

Hancock said that the now-notorious statement – which ignored the discharge of patients from hospital into care homes without Covid tests – came “much later about what we were doing for the winter plan”.

TV footage shows Mr Hancock made the claim on May 15th 2020, at a Downing Street press conference, and that he was arguing he had protected care homes throughout. 

“Right from the start, we’ve tried to throw a protective ring around our care homes,” the watching public was told. “We set out our first advice in February and, as the virus grew, we strengthened it throughout.”

For our full analysis of Hancock’s earlier claim to have thrown a “protective ring around care homes” see here.

Verdict

Hancock’s assertion on the Andrew Marr show lacked credibility.

When we asked Matt Hancock to respond to the claims laid out in this website, a spokesperson said: “This list is false, wildly inaccurate, and in some cases possibly even defamatory. For example claiming that some of Matt's claims in the Commons were in defiance of the ministerial code, when they were in fact accurate. The priority throughout this unprecedented pandemic has been saving lives.”