‘Arrested at the airport? BRILLIANT!’ How Matt Hancock and Priti Patel shared stories of heavy-handed police covid crackdowns with childlike excitement on WhatsApp

• READ MORE: Isabel Oakeshott reveals why she turned against Matt Hancock 

Ensuring lockdown and quarantine rules were stringently enforced became something of an obsession for Matt Hancock and the rest of the Cabinet as Covid cases continued to spiral throughout 2021. 

Leaked messages from his WhatsApp account show the Health Secretary, Boris Johnson and Priti Patel reacting to examples of police down on rulebreakers with almost childlike glee – hailing the cases as ‘brilliant’ and ‘superb’. 

In another exchange, Mr Hancock and Simon Case, the UK’s top civil servant, are seen joking about travellers being forced into quarantine hotels at airports – with Mr Case calling their plight ‘hilarious’. 

It comes as police criticised the former Health Secretary after a 2020 WhatsApp exchange emerged showing him telling Mr Case about the need to ‘get heavy’ with officers as part of a tough approach to lawbreakers. 

Sir Peter Fahy, former chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, said the often chaotic approach Mr Hancock and other ministers took to formulating and implementing anti-Covid rules caused ‘huge resentment’ within the ranks. 

Below, MailOnline reveals the moments Britons found themselves at the sharp end of pandemic-era legislation – and how ministers reacted in private.  

January 13, 2021: Friends trying to travel to Switzerland for a ski holiday are stopped at St Pancras

As Matt Hancock and Priti Patel discussed Covid enforcement, the Home Secretary said the case of a ski group who were stopped from boarding the Eurostar was ‘my fav’ 

Cases of people being caught breaking lockdown rules were a common topic of conversation among ministers and officials. 

In one case, a group of skiers trying to travel to Switzerland were stopped from boarding a Eurostar train at London St Pancras because their journey was not essential. 

The case was revealed by a train manager called Justin, who posted on Twitter that French police deployed to the station had told the group to go home. 

Priti Patel called the incident her ‘fav’, noting how officials charged with guarding Britain’s borders were ‘seeing all sorts right now’. 

February 5, 2021: Police stop people at Bristol Airport to check if their journeys are essential

England entered its third national lockdown on January 6, 2021, and in the coming weeks ministers became increasingly focused on ensuring rules restricting movement were firmly enforced. 

On February 5, Mr Hancock sent Ms Patel a MailOnline story about police stopping passengers at Bristol Airport to check their reasons for travelling. 

‘BRILLIANT,’ he wrote, in capital letters. 

Under the restrictions, people had to stay at home and were banned from travelling without a legally permitted reason. It was illegal to travel abroad for leisure. 

On February 5, Mr Hancock sent Ms Patel a MailOnline story about police stopping passengers at Bristol Airport to check their reasons for travelling. ‘BRILLIANT,’ he wrote 

February 9: Woman says she walked through border controls after arriving from South Africa

On February 9, Mr Hancock announced that travellers who lied about whether they had been to countries with ‘mutant’ strains of Covid could be jailed for up to 10 years. 

But the attempt at tough posturing was undermined by the revelation that same day that a woman been allowed to walk straight through border controls after arriving from South Africa – a virus hotspot at the time. 

Sharing her experience with the media to highlight how the UK was ‘messing up’, Sharon Feinstein, from Islington in north London, said she walked through the terminal after arriving from a trip to Johannesburg the day before. 

Mr Hancock shared a Twitter clip of the woman being interviewed and wrote: ‘Should be easy for Priti to track her down’.    

On February 9, a traveller revealed she had managed to walk through border controls after arriving from South Africa in a major embarrassment for the Government 

February 16: Travellers complain of ‘going nuts’ in quarantine hotels

The Government introduced mandatory hotel quarantine for travellers arriving from ‘red list’ countries on February 15. 

This forced everyone flying into Britain from these nations to stay in a managed hotel for 10 days — at a cost of up to £2,285. 

The policy’s introduction prompted an immediate rush of accounts from travellers complaining about conditions in the hotels. 

One guest, Zari Tadayon, 67, from north London, said she hoped she wasn’t going to ‘go nuts’ after checking into the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel near Heathrow Airport after travelling from Dubai.  

On February 16, the country’s top civil servant Simon Case asked Mr Hancock: ‘Any idea how many people we locked up in hotels yesterday?’ 

Mr Hancock responded: ‘None. But 149 chose to enter the country and are now in Quarantine Hotels due to their own free will!’ to which Mr Case replied: ‘Hilarious’.

A few days later, on February 16, Mr Case asked how many people had been ‘locked up’ in hotels the previous day. Mr Hancock responded: ‘None. But 149 chose to enter the country and are now in Quarantine Hotels due to their own free will!’ to which Mr Case replied: ‘Hilarious’

February 23: Woman jailed for four months after coughing at police  

One case that caught Mr Hancock’s attention was that of a woman who deliberately coughed at police investigating a breach of Covid restrictions.  

Lisa Dawn Fisher swore at officers called to a flat in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, on 30 January before coughing at them. 

The 31-year-old went on to admit two counts of assault against emergency workers and was jailed for four months. 

Mr Hancock shared a BBC story about the incident, prompting Ms Patel to reply ‘law & order!’

The Heath Secretary added ‘love it’ before going on to describe a separate incident.  

Lisa Dawn Fisher swore at officers called to a flat in Scarborough on 30 January before coughing at them. ‘Law & order!’, wrote Ms Patel in response to a story about her being jailed 

March 2: Couple are fined £10,000 for failing to quarantine after returning from Dubai 

Enforcing the hotel quarantine scheme became a particular focus for ministers as concerns mounted about cases of the virus being imported from abroad. 

In early March, it emerged a man and a woman had been issued with £10,000 fines for failing to quarantine after returning from Dubai. 

Mr Hancock shared a Twitter link to a Sky News article about the pair in a WhatsApp group used by ministers. 

‘Superb,’ Mr Johnson replied.  

Just weeks later Number 10 staff assembled in Downing Street for a now infamous illegal party on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral. 

In early March, it emerged a man and a woman had been issued with £10,000 fines for failing to quarantine after returning from Dubai. Mr Johnson called the news ‘superb’ 

Source: Read Full Article