At tea time on Thursday Matt Hancock was on the floor of the Commons, defending the Department of Health’s decision to sell data from GP medical records to drug companies and universities.
David Davis, the former cabinet minister and a campaigner for civil liberties, warned that some of the material would be “incredibly personal, full of facts that might harm or embarrass if they were leaked”. He concluded: “It could be life-destroying for someone.”
Hancock mounted a bravura defence of the plan in the manner that has become familiar to the public throughout the coronavirus crisis. He sat down at 5.27pm. At 6pm he took a call from The Sun, detailing a stunning data leak in the heart of Whitehall that has changed his life
