The son of a Liverpool man who died in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic slammed Matt Hancock's appearance at the Covid-19 inquiry, stating that the former Health Secretary and the rest of the government 'have blood on their hands.'
Jamie Mawson's dad, Richard Mawson, died at the age of 70 in April 2020. He developed Covid-19 shortly after attending Liverpool FC's controversial match with Atletico Madrid at Anfield on March 11.
Many believe the match should not have gone ahead and that the UK was too slow to stop major events and lock down as covid cases surged in the country.
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Two weeks after the game, Richard, who was fit and healthy, fell ill with the virus and rapidly deteriorated - after a short time on a ventilator he died.
Jamie has spoken out previously about the government failure's that he believes led to his father's death and he said these will be fully exposed by the official Covid-19 Inquiry that has recently got underway.
Yesterday, Matt Hancock, who was Health Secretary throughout the pandemic, began giving evidence to the inquiry. He told the hearing that the UK's pandemic planning ahead of the crisis was too focused on dealing with deaths rather than stopping them.
He said the focus was on planning for the consequences of the pandemic, adding: "Can we buy enough body bags, where are we going to bury the dead? That was completely wrong."
Mr Hancock later said that he was 'profoundly sorry' for each death that occurred from Covid-19, accepting that his apology would be 'hard to take' for grieving families.
That was certainly the case for families who confronted the former Health Secretary with images of their lost loved ones as he made his way into the inquiry.
And it is also the case for Jamie Mawson, who is still coming to terms with the fact that his popular, loving dad is no longer around.
Jamie, who lives in Formby, told the ECHO: "My dad, along with thousands of others, still should be here with us. But because of the government's decision-making and lack of preparedness we've lost a fit and healthy man.
"This still has and always will have a devastating effect on my family. We still can't believe he's no longer with us."
Referring to Mr Hancock's comments to the inquiry, he added: "Matt Hancock seems to think that he can hide behind the fact that the government assumed that the next pandemic would be unstoppable.
"But the fact that he and his colleagues failed to prepare to save lives, and instead focused on the disposal of bodies, is now and always will be inexcusable.
"Whether this mistake was due to complacency, incompetence or reluctance to spend money, the UK deserved better from the Health Secretary and the government in general.
He added: "Questions still remain as to why the UK was one of the last European countries to realise that the pandemic could be slowed through lockdowns, and why the social care system was in such a mess when Matt Hancock’s party had been in power for the decade leading up to the pandemic.
"Matt Hancock along with the Government have blood on their hands and will be fully exposed in the inquiry."
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