NHS chief Sir Simon Stevens has failed to confirm he has confidence in Matt Hancock.
Asked repeatedly if, having worked alongside the health secretary during the pandemic, he has confidence in his ability, Sir Simon refused to give Mr Hancock his support.
Pressed on whether the health secretary is hopeless, the NHS boss smirks after an awkward pause and fails to answer.
“I mean, that is a political question,” he added.
Image: Matt Hancock has said he does not think he is hopeless
The PM’s former senior aide published the messages as part of a 7,000-word blogpost which appears to include a series of claims about Mr Johnson and Mr Hancock, including that the prime minister considered removing responsibility for PPE from the health secretary.
In one exchange, which Mr Cummings said was part of late-night messages on 26 March 2020, he and Mr Johnson appear to be discussing actions from “MH” in boosting the UK’s COVID testing capacity.
More on Boris Johnson
The screenshot shows a reply from the prime minister stating: “Totally f****** hopeless”.
Image: On Wednesday, Dominic Cummings published messages allegedly from the PM
At a lobby briefing on Wednesday, Downing Street did not deny the messages were authentic, but assured journalists that the PM has full confidence in the health secretary.
“I am not planning to engage with every allegation put forward, the prime minister has worked very closely with the health secretary throughout and will continue to do so,” the spokesman said.
Asked if there were security concerns about Mr Cummings’s disclosure of messages, the spokesman added: “I don’t plan to get into individual cases, there are rules published for former advisers to observe.”
As he left the Department of Health for the House of Commons on Wednesday, Mr Hancock was asked if he believed himself to be “hopeless”.
“I don’t think so,” he replied.
Pressed again on the matter on Thursday, the health secretary said: “I’m not going to get in to that.”
But when the text messages were put to Sir Simon on Thursday, he could not say that he had full faith in the health secretary.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘Are you hopeless Mr Hancock?’
Sir Simon is due to step down as head of NHS England at the end of July after having overseen the COVID vaccination rollout to adults.
The PM has previously praised Sir Simon for leading the NHS with “great distinction” and he is due to become a peer in the House of Lords following his departure.
But there has not always been such an amicable relationship between Sir Simon and Mr Johnson, who attended Oxford University together, with tensions occurring between ministers and top health officials throughout the pandemic.
There were concerns earlier in the year that the NHS would not be able to successfully roll out the vaccination programme.
But those sceptical have since been proven wrong, with Mr Hancock announcing on Thursday that all over 18s will be able to take up the offer of a jab.
Baroness Harding, who is the wife of Tory MP John Penrose, formally entered the running to become the top boss of England’s healthcare system on Thursday.
Sir Keir Starmer continues to face the threat of a major rebellion during a key vote on welfare reforms later – despite making last-minute concessions to disgruntled Labour MPs.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has confirmed that all existing claimants of the personal independence payment (PIP), the main disability benefit, will be protected from changes to eligibility.
The combined value of the standard Universal Credit allowance and the health top-up will rise “at least in line with inflation” every year of this parliament.
And an additional £300m for employment support for sick and disabled people in 2026 has been announced, which will rise every year after.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
10:54
Welfare cuts ‘needed to be made’
Ms Kendall has also promised that a consultation into PIP – “co-produced” with disabled people – will be published next autumn.
She said the U-turn on welfare cuts will cost taxpayers about £2.5bn by 2030 – less than half the £4.8bn the government had expected to save with its initial proposals.
But after announcing the U-turns, Labour MPs were still publicly saying they could not back the plans as they do not go far enough to allay their concerns.
Disabilities minister Stephen Timms would not say he was “confident” the proposals would pass the Commons when asked on Sky News’ Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge.
“We’ve got a very strong package, I certainly hope it passes,” he replied.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:49
‘Disabled people thrown under the bus’
A total of 86 charities united yesterday to call on MPs to reject the reforms, saying they will harm disabled people and calling it “a political choice”.
The likes of Oxfam, Child Action Poverty Group, Mind and Shelter said the bill has been brought to a vote without consulting disabled people and without any assessment “of its impact on health and employment outcomes”.
When asked to name “a single” disability organisation in favour of the reforms, Ms Kendall declined to do so.
Several Labour MPs indicated they would still vote against the changes, leaving the government in the dark over how big a rebellion it still may face.
Ms Kendall tried to allay their fears, telling MPs: “I believe we have a fair package, a package that protects existing claimants because they’ve come to rely on that support.”
Richard Burgon presented a petition to parliament yesterday evening against the cuts, signed by more than 77,000 people.
Several Labour MPs questioned why the vote was going ahead before the review into PIP is published – including Rachael Maskell, who said she could not “countenance sick and disabled people being denied support” and added: “It is a matter of conscience.”
Connor Naismith said the concessions “undoubtedly improve efforts to secure welfare reform which is fair”, but added: “Unfortunately, I do not believe these concessions yet go far enough.”
Image: Labour rebel Nadia Whittome said the government was ‘ignoring’ disabled people
Nadia Whittome accused the government of “ignoring” disabled people and urged ministers to go “back to the drawing board”.
Ian Byrne told the Commons he will vote against the “cruel cuts” to disability benefits because the “so-called concessions go nowhere near far enough”.
The vote will take place this evening, with coverage on Sky News’ Politics Hub live blog and on TV.
Other crypto firms are also reportedly considering applying for a national bank charter, following in the footsteps of Anchorage Digital Bank, which received a license in 2021.
A lower court ruling will stand in a case involving a Coinbase user who filed a lawsuit against the IRS after the crypto exchange turned over transaction data.