A woman whose elderly father died from Covid called on Matt Hancock to apologise for his “despicable lie” that a “protective ring” was thrown around care homes after a court ruled that the government policy of discharging patients to residential settings was unlawful.
Judges at London’s High Court on Wednesday ruled that discharging Covid patients to care care homes without testing them was unlawful. They said that the policy failed to take into account the risk to elderly and vulnerable residents from non-symptomatic transmission of the illness.
The case against Boris Johnson’s government was brought by two women whose fathers died from Covid-19 and who said ministers failed to protect care home residents during the pandemic.
Cathy Gardner, whose father Michael Gibson died, and Fay Harris, whose father Donald died, took High Court action against health secretary Sajid Javid, NHS England and Public Health England.
Speaking outside the court after the ruling Mr Gardner said the ruling vindicated her belief that the government had “neglected” care home residents during the campaign and justified “our campaign to expose the truth.”
She also called on the prime minister to “accept responsibility” for a policy devised on his watch and said the former health secretary should be “ashamed” of his “lie”.
She said: “It is also now clear that Matt Hancock’s claim that the government threw a protective ring around care homes in the first wave of the pandemic was nothing more than a despicable lie,” she said.
Ms Gardner said the former health secretary should be “ashamed” of the “despicable lie” and called on him to apologise.
She also demanded that Boris Johnson, the prime minister, “accepts responsibility” for Covid policy that was devised “on his watch”.
Ms Gardner and Ms Harris asked two judges to make declarations that unlawful decisions were made.
Lawyers representing Mr Javid, NHS England and Public Health England are fought the claim.
Dr Gardner, who has an academic qualification, is in her 60s and from Sidmouth, Devon. She said her father had died at the age of 88 at a care home in Bicester, Oxfordshire, in April 2020.
A barrister representing the two women told Lord Justice Bean and Mr Justice Garnham that between March and June 2020 – when Matt Hancock was health secretary – more than 20,000 elderly or disabled care home residents had died from Covid-19 in England and Wales.
Jason Coppel QC said the fathers of Dr Gardner and Ms Harris were part of that “toll”.
“The care home population was known to be uniquely vulnerable to being killed or seriously harmed by Covid-19,” said Mr Coppel in a written case outline.
“The government’s failure to protect it, and positive steps taken by the Government which introduced Covid-19 infection into care homes, represent one of the most egregious and devastating policy failures in the modern era.”
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