THE PARTNER of Isabal Oakeshott has defended her decision to leak messages sent to her by Matt Hancock.
Richard Tice, the leader of the Reform UK, said Ms Oakesehott’s decision was justified.
And he told GB News he feared the Government’s handling of the Covid pandemic will be an attempt by the establishment to cover-up ministers’ mistakes.
Mr Tice said: “Look, the reality is that it wasn’t an easy decision (for Isabel) but as a journalist the issue is what is in the overriding strategic public interest.
“What became clear is that this is so significant. It was about the difference between what we were all being told at the time by Matt Hancock and other ministers as well as the Prime Minister and his advisors.
“Our real concern here is that the public inquiry in the UK is literally just starting as we speak and it looks like it’s going to take at least five years, probably ten years, and cost hundreds of millions of pounds.
“We need to learn the lessons and we need to learn them rapidly about what went well and bluntly what went badly…France is well on the way through its inquiry. We can’t wait for this.”
In an interview with Bev Turner on GB News, he added: “It’s really important that the public understand the extent to which our politicians didn’t tell us the truth all the way through these lockdowns and the consequences of that.
“You remember those words, ‘we’re making the right decisions based on the best science at the right time’, well it turned out that wasn’t the case.
“Very often they were making decisions to suit their own political expediency and ignoring some of the right advice and completely refusing to look at advice from other people.”
Mr Tice said there was much more to be disclosed: “There is a lot to come across a whole range of subjects.”
Asked if he was shocked at what was discovered, he said: “The reality is that these messages, they proved what we feared, those of us who were skeptical of the lockdowns and the merits of them, we feared what was going on…
“We have to learn the lessons and we have to learn them really fast.
“And our real concern here is that the inquiry will turn out to be literally a whitewash and establishment cover-up to show that everybody did the best thing and that simply isn’t the truth and people deserve it.
“The people deserve the truth.”
He added: “It matters hugely because he lied to us. He lied to everybody.
“He said consistently that a protective ring was thrown around the care homes. It wasn’t, we suspected it wasn’t, this is the proof that it wasn’t…
“And when the Great Barrington declaration came out in the autumn of 2020, those of us that promoted it, whether we were the sort of political leaders, campaigners, or indeed the scientists and experts who promoted it, we were all smeared, we were labeled as killers.
“We were verbally attacked by the Establishment and by political leaders in the most brutal way, when actually it turns out we were right and this is the proof and the evidence over the coming days will reinforce that.”
Mr Hancock has issued a statement claiming that the messages have been doctored and have been taken out of context.
