Facts

Matt Hancock, in an article for the Daily Telegraph, told readers that “We have a plan, based on the expertise of world-leading scientists. Herd immunity is not a part of it.”

This came after Johnson’s lead scientist told a press conference that herd immunity was, in fact, part of the plan. 

A TV documentary later revealed that Boris Johnson had also told the Italian Prime Minister that he was aiming for “herd immunity”.

Dominic Cummings later claimed, on Twitter, that until September herd immunity was the plan.

He tweeted: “hacks have parroted Hancock’s line that ‘herd immunity wasn’t the plan’ when ‘herd immunity by Sep’ was *literally the official plan in all docs/graphs/meetings* until it was ditched”.

Verdict

Matt Hancock’s claim that herd immunity was not part of the government plan has been challenged by credible sources.

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.”