Coffee House Shots

Will Javid handle Covid differently?

11 min listen

It’s Sajid Javid’s first day in the office as health secretary. The former chancellor’s comments last year that he would ‘run the economy hot’ have led some to think he will try to end restrictions as soon and as extensively as possible, but might he have changed his mind? Isabel Hardman speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.

Katy says his position might be more complicated than many first assume: ‘We know what his instinct is, but it’s also the case that when he made the comments last spring, that was obviously thinking with his former chancellor hat on, and now he’s going to have to look at things in terms of the health department.’

Our team also talk about the CCTV leak from health department. James says: ‘In a way we’re lucky that this footage was given to a newspaper rather than to a hostile state that might have attempted to use it to blackmail people. I think CCTV in buildings you would expect, but CCTV in your own personal office is a bit of a surprise.’


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