Hancock 'thought he should decide who lived or died' if the NHS was overwhelmed

The former health secretary Matt Hancock told officials that he- rather than the medical profession-"should ultimately decide who should live or die" if the NHS was overwhelmed during the pandemic, the Covid inquiry heard.

- Aletha Adu, Ben Quinn

The development emerged during evidence presented yesterday to the inquiry from the former head of the NHS, Simon Stevens. "Fortunately this horrible dilemma never crystalised," Stevens said.

Lord Stevens, who led NHS England until 2021, said he stressed at the time that no individual secretary of state should be able to decide how care was provided, "other than in the most exceptional circumstances".

Hancock's position, which materialised during a planning exercise at the Cabinet Office in February 2020, was a different one from that of his predecessor, Jeremy Hunt, who had wanted such decisions to be reserved for clinical staff.

Stevens told the inquiry that this ethical question was never resolved and cropped up again during the pandemic when "rationing" of NHS services was discussed.

The former NHS chief was largely uncritical of Hancock, unlike other figures who appeared before Lady Hallett's inquiry this week, including the former top No 10 adviser Dominic Cummings and former civil servant Helen MacNamara.

Stevens's witness statement referred to the "Operation Nimbus" planning exercise, which he said was helpful in terms of outlining the pressures government departments might face.