‘A bonkers plan’ Hancock on MOJ idea to free prisoners

Ministers considered a “bonkers” plan to free thousands of prisoners during the pandemic to prevent them catching the virus in jail, Matt Hancock has disclosed.

The former health secretary said he vigorously opposed the Ministry of Justice plan, put forward in March 2020.

The revelation comes in the first part of the serialisation of Mr Hancock’s diaries in the Daily Mail.

In his entry for March 17, he writes: “A bonkers proposal...”