Table of Contents
Lockdown Files
The Lockdown Files is the name of a series of articles published by The Telegraph based on 100,000 WhatsApp messages allegedly leaked to the outlet.1)
History
The messages were leaked by journalist Isabel Oakeshott, who was given copies of them while working on Matt Hancock's “Pandemic Diaries” memoir.2) 3) The first Lockdown Files article was published February 28, 2023. Many articles in the series do not list an author.
On March 5, Mathew Crawford shared one of the articles titled “‘Project Fear’ authors discussed when to ‘deploy’ new Covid variant”, stating “It looks like I was right about omicron being a release, not an emergent strain.”4)
On March 10, Liam Sturgess warned that the series appeared to be a limited hangout operation.5)
Articles
The Telegraph maintains a page collecting the articles in The Lockdown Files. The following list includes archived versions of each article in chronological order:6)
February
February 28
- February 28, 2023: The 2.3 million words that will go down in history by Fraser Nelson
- February 28, 2023: Matt Hancock was told care home Covid rules were ‘inhumane’ – but kept them
- February 28, 2023: I had to release Matt Hancock’s Covid WhatsApp messages to avoid a whitewash by Isabel Oakeshott
March
March 1
- March 1, 2023: The Lockdown Files have thrown Westminster into a state of panic by Tom Harris
- March 1, 2023: The Lockdown Files lift the curtain on government by WhatsApp by Camilla Tominey
- March 1, 2023: Care homes refused to test staff they feared had Covid
- March 1, 2023: Matt Hancock staged ‘rearguard’ action to close schools
- March 1, 2023: English schoolchildren had to wear masks because ministers didn't relish a political row with Nicola Sturgeon
March 2
- March 2, 2023: Matt Hancock can threaten me all he wants, our nation's children must never suffer this way again by Isabel Oakeshott
- Also titled “Matt Hancock sent me threatening message after I leaked WhatsApps”
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- Also titled “Boris Johnson wanted to lift lockdown early – but he was told public ‘wasn’t ready’”
- March 2, 2023: How Covid turned Britain into a curtain-twitcher’s paradise
- March 2, 2023: Lee Cain and James Slack - the media advisers who helped shape the decisions that changed our lives
- Also titled “‘Slackie and Lee’ - the media advisers who helped shape the decisions that changed our lives”
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March 3
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- Also titled “Matt Hancock praised his own pictures in media and hoped Covid crisis would be the making of him”
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- Also titled “Why Matt Hancock labelled Treasury colleagues ‘w—ers’”
March 4
- March 4, 2023: The Lockdown Files: 10 things we’ve learned so far
- March 4, 2023: What Sunak and Hancock really thought of Dominic Cummings
- March 4, 2023: Matt Hancock's campaign to remove NHS chief revealed
March 5
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- March 5, 2023: The inconvenient questions the Covid inquiry must answer by Esther McVey
- March 5, 2023: Matt Hancock cracks joke about Bill Gates Covid conspiracy
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- Also titled “Simon Case’s private warning about Boris Johnson”
- March 5, 2023: I worked with Matt Hancock on vaccines - he's a headless chicken by Clive Dix
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March 6
- March 6, 2023: Matt Hancock’s secret plan to import French Covid patients
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- Also titled “The secret spreadsheet that targeted MPs critical of lockdown”
March 7
March 8
March 9
March 10
- March 10, 2023: Was Sweden right about Covid all along? by Fraser Nelson
External links
Videos
Profiles
1)
The Lockdown Files Team. (2023, March 4). “Project Fear” authors discussed when to “deploy” new Covid variant. The Telegraph. http://archive.today/2023.03.05-190819/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/03/04/project-fear-covid-variant-lockdown-matt-hancock-whatsapp/
2)
Telegraph Readers. (2023, March 1). “The messages show a blatant disregard for human quality of life.” The Telegraph. https://archive.ph/0WwDc
3)
Penna, D. (2023, March 1). Matt Hancock claims “doctored” WhatsApp leak “fits anti-lockdown agenda.” The Telegraph. https://archive.ph/HhO6W
4)
Mathew Crawford [@EduEngineer]. (2023, March 5). “It looks like I was right about omicron being a release, not an emergent strain.” [Tweet]. Twitter. http://archive.today/2023.03.05-221707/https://twitter.com/EduEngineer/status/1632181950252298240
5)
Rounding the Earth. (2023, March 10). Limited Hangout Files - Rounding the News. Rumble. https://rumble.com/v2cfwx6-limited-hangout-files-rounding-the-news.html
6)
The Lockdown Files. The Telegraph. Retrieved March 5, 2023, from https://archive.ph/4M274