Cabinet splits over coronavirus lockdown: Chancellor Rishi Sunak warns Britain faces irreparable damage if restrictions aren’t lifted soon – while Health Secretary Matt Hancock favours extending the measures to protect NHS workers
- Cabinet is split between hawks who want to lift lockdown in a few weeks and doves who want to delay until late May at the earliest
- Hawks include Rishi Sunak, Priti Patel, Gavin Williamson – and Boris Johnson
- Doves are led by Matt Hancock, and are understood to include Michael Dove
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
The Cabinet has divided into hawks who want to lift the lockdown in a few weeks and doves who want to delay until late May at the earliest.
Leading the hawks is Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who The Mail on Sunday revealed last week had made ‘robust’ representations to ‘doveish’ Health Secretary Matt Hancock that the economy will suffer irreparable damage unless a path is mapped now for a swift return to normal activity.
While Mr Hancock believes the protection of the NHS should be the overarching priority, the hawks – who are understood to include Home Secretary Priti Patel, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson and Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey – have been alarmed by the problems stacking up in their departments.
Ms Patel is concerned by an increase of nearly one third in reports of domestic violence.
Mr Williamson is alarmed by the effect on children of a protracted period out of the classroom, and Ms Coffey’s welfare bill has exploded with the surge in benefit claimants.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak (pictured) is leading the group of Cabinet hawks who want to ease lockdown restrictions within weeks, fearing its impact on the economy
Health Secretary Matt Hancock (pictured) believes the survival of the NHS is the top priority
The row comes as the UK recorded 917 deaths on Saturday, as the national toll nears 10,000
Ministers are also worried about the hidden costs of the lockdown, such as a rise in suicides due to the mental strain of isolation, or the impact of missed cancer diagnoses.
They have cited anecdotal evidence that heart attack deaths in some areas have increased because Covid-19 patients are being given priority over people calling 999 with chest pains, which NHS England disputes.
Referrals under the Two Week Wait system in which urgent GP referrals for suspected cancers are seen within a fortnight are thought to have fallen last month by up to 70 per cent in England.
Priti Patel (pictured) is concerned by an increase in reports of domestic violence
Health bodies are so concerned that a public health campaign is expected next week to spread the message: ‘The NHS is still open for business.’
While some hawks hoped the lockdown could be ended by VE Day on May 8, the doves have cited the first day after the May 26 bank holiday as the earliest date for a phased return to the workplace.
According to one report, Boris Johnson is hawkish about the lockdown, and has been taken aback by how rigorously it has been observed by the public.
The Government has denied claims that Whitehall officials have calculated that up to 150,000 lives could be lost as a result of the lockdown – worse than all but the bleakest projection if social distancing measures had not been introduced.
Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey (pictured) is alarmed by surge in benefits claims
The Cabinet is split between hawks like Gavin Williamson (left) and Michael Gove (right)
Michael Gove has been described by colleagues as ‘doveish’ on the lockdown.
A source close to the Minister for the Cabinet Office said: ‘He is definitely keen on a clear path out of the lockdown, but at the right time.’
A source close to Mr Hancock said: ‘Lifting the lockdown depends on what the evidence shows us. We are nowhere near putting dates on things like that.’