The Health Secretary admitted to MPs on Thursday that PPE shortages came "pretty close" last year, but he claimed "at a national level", there was "never a point" when the UK "ran out". The APPG has been handed some 500 evidence submissions on protective gear since opening its cross-party inquiry last year. Mr Hancock told the committee, which is aiming to learn lessons from the government's handling of the pandemic, there were "individual challenges in getting hold of PPE". He did not fully deny Boris Johnson's former top aide Dominic Cummings ' claims that he tried to blame NHS chief executive Simon Stevens over PPE shortages, instead saying: "That is not a fair recollection." Asked if an investigation found Sir Simon was not to blame for blockages he replied: “I can’t recall that.”

Source: Daily Mirror June 10, 2021 17:58 UTC