A lawyer asked to represent Matt Hancock has been mocked for a mistake in a fiesty television interview.
Jonathan Coad, a media and defamation lawyer, lashed out at a GB News presenter during a live clash about The Telegraph's Lockdown Files, before later rowing back on his rant.
Isabel Oakeshott, the journalist who leaked 100,000 WhatsApp messages between Matt Hancock, the under-fire former health secretary, other ministers and officials, described the on-air bust-up as an "absolute car crash".
Pressure has mounted on Mr Hancock and the Government over Covid lockdown decision-making after days of disclosures in this newspaper.
'Throwing poo at Hancock'
Introducing Mr Coad to viewers at the start of the interview, which has been viewed more than one million times online, the GB News presenter Steve Allen pointed out that he was "recently asked to act for Matt Hancock".
Mr Coad responded angrily: "Yes, I have to say, that is disappointing because I made it absolutely clear to your programme, I asked them not to disclose that and that is very, very poor journalism."
When the host asked him if he was "okay to carry on", Mr Coad accused him of having "stood there in front of a baying audience throwing poo left, right and centre at Matt Hancock".
guys this bloke has had an absolute NIGHTMARE On GB news wow it really is quite spectacular pic.twitter.com/62VZZT76qO
— Ava-Santina (@AvaSantina) March 5, 2023
Mr Coad explained that in a conversation with producers beforehand, he had "mentioned that I had been approached by Matt Hancock [and] asked you not to mention that and you mentioned that".
"If anybody's tempted to take you or your programme seriously, here is a good reason not to," Mr Coad said.
Howls of laughter at about-turn
However, at the end of the seven-minute interview, GB News displayed on screen the email that Mr Coad had sent producers beforehand.
Mr Coad's email said: "As a courtesy to the lady who approached me to act for MH (Matt Hancock), I would be grateful if it was mentioned that he asked me to act for him (via his assistant)."
This sparked howls of laughter from the GB News live studio audience and Mr Coad immediately rowed back.
Mr Coad responded: "You're absolutely right, it's my mistake, I missed out the word 'not' -- I take all of that back and my abject apologies. You're right and I'm wrong."
The studio audience then broke out into hysterical mocking laughter and applauded.
The GB News host then terminated the interview, saying "I think we will leave it there".
'Quite spectacular'
It sparked a social media frenzy, with Ava-Santina Evans, a journalist, tweeting: "Guys this bloke has had an absolute nightmare on GB News wow it really is quite spectacular."
Andrew Bridgen, the Tory MP for North West Leicestershire, tweeted: "I can see Hancock has quality advisors."
Ms Oakeshott has stressed that she revealed the messages, thus breaking a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), "in the overwhelming public interest" because the "hopelessly open-ended" Covid inquiry risks "becom[ing] a colossal whitewash".
During the interview, Mr Coad was asked if he thought there was any circumstances where an NDA could be breached in the public interest.
He responded: "There has to be very high circumstances for that, now I don't think there is -- the Covid crisis was the first that any Government faced for 100 years, so we discover that mistakes were made during the Covid crisis; how extraordinary is that?
"Why is it necessary to learn from those texts that the Government made mistakes; what good does it do?"
