Matt must quit over NHS mess

We did not need Dominic Cummings to tell us there were up to 20 reasons why Matt Hancock should have been sacked. Anyone not in need of a Barnard Castle eye test was able to see that.

And it did not need Dominic Cummings to say turfing patients out of hospital beds and sending them back to care homes untested bordered on the criminal.

The 36,000 deaths are testament to the appalling consequences.

The PM’s surprise wedding may capture the headlines but it should not deflect from the agony too many families who have lost loved ones are going through.

Mr Johnson has already kicked the inevitable reckoning into the long grass by refusing to hold a public inquiry into Covid until next year.

That inquiry should have been held last summer so lessons could be learned. But as we come out of lockdown there is no excuse for further delay.

Today we publish evidence to show that Matt Hancock is not fit to hold the post of Health Secretary – supplied by someone who claims to have witnessed what was going on.

Mr Cummings has promised to produce documentary evidence to MPs to back up those accusations. Should that prove what he and others claim, then Mr Hancock’s position will become untenable.

But Mr Hancock can still show he has at least an ounce of honour by offering Mr Johnson his resignation now. And it would give some small comfort to all in mourning for those they have lost for the PM to accept it.