Daily Mail Politics

EXCLUSIVE first extracts available on The Mail+ NOW Hancock: Forgive me for Gina Covid rule breach Ex-minister says he was ‘deeply’ in love at time of mistake... but DOESN'T need forgiveness for handling of Covid pandemic mailplus.co.uk/edition/news/… via @mailplus

WATCH Matt Hancock's full soul-baring interview here 'This was an affaire de coeur and therefore my political judgment was off’ mailplus.co.uk/edition/news/…

WATCH IN FULL: The Mail's Rebecca Hardy interviews Matt Hancock mailplus.co.uk/edition/news/…

THE HANCOCK DIARIES: Whitty warned of 820,000 UK Covid deaths ... 2 months before lockdown ■ reveals how he was warned a ‘very large number of people will die’ from Covid more than two months before the Government put Britain in lockdown. mailplus.co.uk/edition/news/… via @mailplus

EXCL: THE HANCOCK DIARIES 1 January 2020 Standing in my kitchen in Suffolk, I scanned my paper for clues as to what might be lurking around the corner. The only thing on my patch was a news-in-brief story about a mystery pneumonia outbreak in China... mailplus.co.uk/edition/news/…

THE HANCOCK DIARIES: ■ accuses Dominic Cummings of ‘total idiocy’ in early days of pandemic ■ paints ex-chief of staff as a menace who used petty tactics to frustrate the Covid effort ■ claims Cummings had ‘complete contempt for elected politicians mailplus.co.uk/edition/news/…

THE HANCOCK DIARIES: ■ reveals how one billion items of PPE trapped in warehouse at start of pandemic because it only had one door ■ was ‘absolutely furious’ at the blunder, which led to delays sending millions of gowns, masks and gloves to NHS staff mailplus.co.uk/edition/news/…

THE HANCOCK DIARIES: Former Health Sec on Trump ■ reveals he detested Donald Trump so much that he burst into tears of joy when his presidency came to an end ■ branded ex-President an ‘awful, awful man’ and a ‘plonker’ over his handling of pandemic mailplus.co.uk/edition/news/…

It is understood that the messages that fell into foreign hands included criticisms of Mr Johnson made by Ms Truss and Mr Kwarteng, leading to a potential risk of blackmail. Sources said that up to a year's worth of messages were downloaded.

The hack was discovered during the summer Tory leadership campaign, when Ms Truss was Foreign Secretary. One source said the phone was so heavily compromised that it has now been placed in a locked safe inside a secure government location.