If this was in Tehran, Moscow or Hong Kong, the UNSC would be urgently meeting to discuss humanitarian intervention and sanctions. But it’s Paris, nothing to see here. pic.twitter.com/lEJBhbomMa

— Hadi Nasrallah (@HadiNasrallah) March 12, 2023

Berlin was “humiliated” by Washington during the Nord Stream sabotage controversy, senior security official Nikolay Patrushev has said | Germany is facing an inevitable economic decline after losing its access to Russian energy, but cannot do anything about it because it is not a sovereign nation, the secretary of the Russian National Security Council has claimed.💬 “Germany tried for many years to build its economy on a combination of cheap Russian energy and advanced German technologies. Like no one else, it realizes that the terrorist attack against the [Nord Stream pipelines] will definitely cause the German economy to decline further,” Nikolay Patrushev said in an interview published in Argumenti i Fakti newspaper on Monday. ● The advantages that German businesses enjoyed by getting access to Russian fuel has long irritated the governments of the US and the UK, he continued. But Berlin is not at liberty to continue cooperating with Moscow, “because the German nation is not independent.” “Washington imposes on Berlin its economic and environmental agenda and keeps a 35,000-strong military force on its soil. For years, the White House controlled [former chancellor] Angela Merkel, and now it forces the German leadership to side with the version of the pipeline sabotage that is advantageous to the US authorities,” Patrushev said, describing America’s treatment of Germany as “humiliating.” ● The remarks were part of Patrushev’s comments on the sabotage of the undersea pipelines, which were built to supply Germany with Russian natural gas. The Nord Stream links were ruptured by powerful explosions last September in what Russia has called a blatant terrorist attack.

Ukraine’s leader believes seizing the historic Kiev Pechersk Lavra will strengthen “spiritual independence” | Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has endorsed the order to expel monks of the canonical Orthodox church from the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, insinuating they were agents of Russia. Moscow has called on all Christian churches, as well as the UN and other international organizations, to respond to the “outrageous” decision. ● On Friday, the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture notified the monks they had until March 29 to vacate the monastery, claiming they had violated the 2013 agreement under which the state allowed them to administer the national historic preserve. Founded in 1051, the Pechersk Lavra (‘Monastery of the Caves’) is considered the most prominent Orthodox Christian site in Ukraine. ● Kiev has already expelled the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) from two of the cathedrals above the monastery. Within days of that decision, in early January, the government-created Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) was allowed to hold services on the premises. ● On Saturday, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church compared the eviction to the expulsion of Orthodox clergy under Communism. Such a move would “lead to a violation of the rights of millions of Ukrainian Orthodox faithful,” said Patriarch Kirill, in a letter sent to the UN, the heads of other Orthodox churches, Pope Francis of Rome, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Coptic Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria, and others.

Maria Zakharova (Мария Захарова; Russian MFA)(Mar 15, 2023) | Minister of Culture of Ukraine: Monks of the canonical UOC may remain in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra if they go over to the schismatics. Without any embarrassment, the Kiev regime has voiced a criminal logic: the freedom of religion in Ukraine is being held hostage by the bandits at Bankova. (Trans.: DeepL.com)

Maria Zakharova (Russian MFA) | What a strange position this is | Serbian Economy Minister Rade Basta: 💬 "Our country is already paying a high price for not imposing sanctions against Russia, and this is becoming unbearable. As Economy Minister, I cannot accept the pressure exerted on Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, and we remain silent. For this reason, I [advocate] the imposition of sanctions against Russia, I support President Vucic in protecting state and national interests and I fully trust him. In this regard, I ask the Serbian Government and all ministers to speak on this issue." ■ What a strange position this is: America is putting pressure on Serbia, and the Serbian minister is calling for action against Russia. Maybe it would be better for the Serbian minister to speak out decisively against pressure on his country? Russia, unlike the United States, has always respected Serbia and its people. And it's not just the historical truth, but the obvious fact: with the introduction of sanctions against Russia, the pressure of the United States on Serbia will not end, but will only increase. ((T)

■ Serbian party demands dismissal of minister who called for sanctions against Russia (TASS)

As for Matt Hancock, he has lost the Whip and, unfortunately, can no longer be disciplined by the Conservative party. The slithy tove can – and must – be dragged before a Select Committee. Personally, I would like to see him in jail for the vast hurt he has caused. | So, here’s one Urgent Question for a plucky MP to ask: “Thank you, Mr Speaker. Will my Right Honourable Friend, the Secretary of State for Health, make a statement regarding the offer, revealed in the WhatsApp messages published in The Daily Telegraph’s Lockdown Files, which was considered by his predecessor to make NHS beds available to Covid patients from France? At that time, the British people were not allowed to access treatments, thousands upon thousands of operations were cancelled and non-Covid patients were sidelined to “support the NHS”, but apparently Mr Hancock considered it was appropriate to invite the French to use our medical facilities. What is the Secretary of State’s view on what that says about the true state of NHS capacity at that point, and was the nation perhaps deceived?” Dismayingly, if not entirely unpredictably, it was the very restrictions Matt Hancock and his lockdown zealots told us were necessary to save the health service which have very nearly finished it off. “The NHS has collapsed anyway as a direct result of the lockdowns and the vast backlog they caused,” says my source. Ironies don’t come much more bitter than that. (paywall)

■ ‘Project Fear’ authors discussed when to ‘deploy’ new Covid variant (The Daily Telegraph)
■ MSM Calls for the Arrest and Prosecution of British Health Minister for Covid Crimes (RAIR Foundation)
■ Lockdown Files: comment l’ancien secrétaire d’État à la Santé britannique Matt Hancock utilisait la peur et le chantage pour imposer de nouveaux confinements (FranceSoir)

Stephen Bryen (Asia Times) Both sides readying to go big militarily with nature’s thaw & place Europe on the brink of a great catastrophe | After the thaw comes the crunch for soldiers on both sides – including these Ukrainians – and Europe, perhaps the world. As it looks now, there are two potential spring offensives in Ukraine. Either of these offensives would be laden with significant risks for both sides. Predicting the outcome is difficult because outside players may intervene, especially US and NATO forces. ● The first offensive is fairly well known. It is the spring offensive being organized by the Russian army. Considerable preparations have been made over many months. The Russians have honed their tactics, brought in new offensive weapons and replaced equipment so far lost in the war, especially tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. [...] What isn’t known is how the Russians will use the large force they have assembled, numbering between 200,000 to 300,000. One theory is they will move out from the south and east in a wide encirclement trying to trap Ukrainian forces. ● The other spring offensive is the one that Ukraine is preparing for in earnest. This offensive probably has been planned in the Pentagon rather than in Kyiv. NATO is rapidly bolstering its forces. This past Saturday the US-flagged vehicle carrier Liberty Pride sailed into the port of Alexandroupolis, Greece, carrying military equipment destined for NATO forces. How many other US ships are in the ocean at the moment or arriving at other ports, isn’t yet known. But what is known is that NATO is girding itself for a spillover, once the Ukrainian offensive gets underway. The main focus of the Ukrainian spring offensive likely is an assault on Crimea and on Russian forces in the south. The objective is to cut them off (Kherson area across to Zaphorizia) and systematically destroy them, followed by a big push into Crimea. [...] Ukraine will have its hands full in such an operation and is dependent on US intelligence and, very likely, US airpower. There is not enough time to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s, and there are not any spare up-to-date F-16s to throw into the battle – unless, of course, US fighter squadrons are in the mix. One can expect that US aircraft will be painted over with Ukrainian insignia and flown by US or NATO pilots. [Ephasis-AWIP] These planes will operate as standoff assets, firing long-range air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons. ● If these prognostications on the two spring offensives are anywhere near correct – and there is plenty of evidence suggesting both offensives are being prepared – then Europe is on the brink of a great catastrophe.

vedomosti.ru (Ведомости) | Finland said that the prime minister's idea to transfer fighter jets to the AFU had not been discussed | The proposal to transfer the decommissioned Hornet fighter jets to Ukraine has not been discussed with anyone, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto has said. Earlier in Kiev, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said that the republic could discuss such a possibility, writes Helsingin Sanomat. 💬 "This has not been discussed with anyone," Niinistö's presidential office said. Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen also told Iltalehti that Marin had not told him about his initiative beforehand, and that if he had discussed the possibility of supplying fighter jets, he would have "stomped on" the idea. Marin said during a March 10 visit to Kiev that Finnish authorities could discuss sending Hornet fighters to Ukraine. 💬 "Yes, I think we can discuss the Hornet as well, whether it would be possible to transfer them to Ukraine and what kind of training would be needed for that," the Finnish prime minister said. According to the newspaper, the Finnish fighter fleet will be decommissioned from 2025 and will be replaced with F-35 fighters. ● On January 12, the president of Finland admitted that the country may transfer Leopard tanks to Ukraine, but only a few of them. He explained that this was due to the fact that Finland is not a member of NATO and borders with Russia. In late February, Helsinki reported that Niinistö had approved the delivery of three Leopard 2 tanks. It was reported that the cost of the new aid package to Ukraine would be more than 160 million euros. ● Russian authorities have repeatedly criticized the supply of Western arms to Kiev. In particular, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that pumping Ukraine with weapons brings NATO closer to the dangerous line of a direct military clash with Russia. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that the supply of long-range weapons would only expand the geography of special operations. (Translation: DeepL.com) (Photo © defenseworld.net)

■ Kuleba reveals which countries' fighter jets Ukraine is counting on (Yahoo!Finance)
■ Ukraine already knows type of aircraft it may get from Western allies (The New Voice of Ukraine)
■ Ukraine does not expect fighter jet deliveries in the near future, says top diplomat (TASS)

Tallinn authorities suspect Aivo Peterson of “anti-Estonian association” | Two Estonian citizens and one Russian national with permanent residence were detained, Security Police spokesman Harrys Puusepp confirmed to local media, identifying only Peterson by name. Puusepp did not offer any details about the charges against them, saying only that the state prosecutors were investigating them for “creating associations against the Estonian Republic.” Peterson is a prominent member of Together (known in Estonian as Koos, and in Russian as Vmeste), a leftist political movement advocating the peaceful coexistence of Estonians and Russians. He ran for parliament as a candidate of the Estonian United Left in last week’s election. His arrest amounts to government repression, Together activist Andrey Pozdnyakov told the outlet Postimees. Estonian outlets, such as Postimees and the state broadcaster ERR, described Peterson as a “pro-Kremlin activist” and accused him of making “pro-Russian statements.” ● Russian-speakers make up about a quarter of Estonia’s population of 1.3 million. The Baltic state, which is a member of the EU and NATO, has adopted a hard line towards Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine. In recent months, Tallinn has advanced the proposal to curtail Russian-language education, and said even the Ukrainian refugees would need to learn Estonian if they wanted to stay.

The likelihood that the United States and China will engage in a direct confrontation is quite high, political scientist Vladimir Kireyev told Izvestia. 💬 "Now, the probability that the US and China will come to a direct conflict is quite high. It is the US that is provoking the situation as the window of opportunities to cause serious damage to China is closing. China is trying to postpone the conflict as much as possible and even avoid it altogether. The reason is that taking into consideration economic development, in 10 to 15 years, China will be much stronger than the US and the Chinese won’t need to engage in a conflict to protect their interests," the expert concluded. [link]

"To be transparent we will publish this whole correspondence quite soon and distribute it among the members of the Security Council," Dmitry Polyansky added | Russia will distribute the correspondence with Germany, Denmark and Sweden on the investigation of Nord Stream accidents among the members of the UN Security Council soon, First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said in an interview with The Dive YouTube channel on Thursday. 💬 "They are denying any access to information, they are denying any participation regardless of the fact that we are an affected party, so we should be part of this investigation, but they are just writing to us some letters saying that we’re doing what we’re doing and mind your own business. To be transparent we will publish this whole correspondence quite soon and distribute it among the members of the Security Council," Polyansky [said]. The recent information in Western media on Nord Stream accidents is an attempt to divert attention away from what really happened, the diplomat noted.

■ Moscow to expose Nord Stream stonewalling (RT.com) The diplomat claimed that, in a nutshell, the message from the three nations was: “We are doing what we are doing, mind your own business.” The Russian mission will distribute the exchanges among members of the UN Security Council in an effort to initiate an “independent, unbiased international investigation with all parties concerned,” Polyansky added. Moscow wants the UNSC to authorize Secretary General Antonio Guterres to launch a probe into the attack on the undersea energy links, which were built to pump Russian natural gas directly to Germany. Three of the four pipes were ruptured by explosions in September last year in the territorial waters of Denmark and Sweden. According to Polyansky, Russia intends to put its proposal to a vote by the end of March, although Western powers will inevitably object.

Thomas Fazi | Private capital wields far too much influence | [...] However, from the Eighties onwards, things started to change. Until then, the organisation had relied on the contributions of its member states for its regular budget. In 1982, however, the World Health Assembly, the WHO’s decision-making body, voted to freeze its budget — under pressure from the Reagan administration, which saw the WHO as a socialist-leaning, unaccountable organisation working against American interests. This was followed by the 1985 decision by the United States to withhold its contribution, in part as a protest against its “Essential Drug Program”, which encouraged developing countries to develop their own capacities to produce essential medicines, rather than rely on Western drug companies — small wonder leading US-based pharmaceutical companies were averse. As a result, the organisation was forced to rely increasingly on extrabudgetary funds provided by “stakeholders”: not only governments and bilateral and multilateral agencies (such as the World Bank), but private and corporate donors as well, including pharmaceutical giants such as GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis. Over the years, among the private extrabudgetary donors, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation rose above the rest: by the 2010s, it had become the WHO’s second-largest donor, accounting for around 10% of all funds. Since voluntary contributions are earmarked, the donors largely get to call the shots on the use of the funds they contribute.

■ WHO’s plans to become global health dictator move forward. We’re distracted with “lab leaks” + “lockdown files”

"They must just be lone rangers fighting against the damned Muscovites. Some inglourious basterds saving the world," the politician quipped, referring to a Quentin Tarantino movie | Media allegations about a "pro-Ukrainian group" being behind the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines are nothing but propaganda, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram on Thursday. 💬 "It’s ignorant US propaganda," he said, commenting on Western media reports blaming the pipeline explosions on a "pro-Ukrainian group" not affiliated with anyone. "They must just be lone rangers fighting against the damned Muscovites. Some inglourious basterds saving the world," the politician quipped, referring to a Quentin Tarantino movie. "They went and dove into the sea, blew up two huge pipes on the seabed and disappeared into the sunset. Unnoticed. In a sea full of NATO ships and littered with international tracking systems," Medvedev went on to say.

■ And Then the Zombie Apocalypse Begins (Dmitry Medvedev) (English translation)
■ US muddies water over Nord Stream with vague new intelligence, shows deterrence to allies (Global Times)

US media leaks from anonymous sources about the sabotage attacks on Nord Stream pipelines are intended only to confuse those who are trying to find out the truth, Minister-Counselor of the Russian Embassy in the United States Andrey Ledenev said. | Commenting on an article in the New York Times, the diplomat said: 💬 "First of all, we took notice of the fact that the mentioned article instantly got a ‘green light’ in the local information field, literally being all over the media in a heartbeat." "This is especially noteworthy given the attempts of the local officials and journalists to blatantly silence the resonant material of the Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh on the same topic. As well as the administration's opposition to launching a comprehensive and independent investigation into this act of international terrorism against critical energy infrastructure," Ledenev was quoted as saying on the Russian embassy's official Telegram channel. In his words, 💬 "it looks like local authorities have something to hide given the fact they openly threatened the operation of the gas pipelines, and afterwards overtly savored their destruction," especially since mutually beneficial cooperation between Russia and Europe "has always been like a thorn in Washington's side." "We have no faith in the ‘impartiality’ of the conclusions of the US intelligence. We perceive anonymous ‘leaks’ as nothing more than an attempt to confuse those who are sincerely trying to get to the bottom of things in this egregious crime. Shift the blame from the statesmen who ordered and coordinated the attacks in the Baltic Sea to some abstract individuals," the Russian diplomat continued. "We are convinced that in the end justice will prevail. We shall spare no effort for this to happen," he added.

■ Russia reacts to media reports on Nord Stream sabotage (RT.com)
■ Kremlin: New Reports on Nord Stream Attacks Are Part of a Coordinated Disinformation Campaign (Sputnik News)

Maria Zakharova (Мария Захарова) (Russian MFA) | The Estonian regime hurriedly enacted yet another discriminatory law against its own non-citizens — the owners of "gray passports" or "second-class citizens," as they are called in Estonia — the ethnic Russians of this Baltic republic. | This time they were deprived of the right to bear arms. What are Estonian authorities afraid of? Let them answer this question themselves. I will only say that the last time the ban on carrying weapons to ethnic groups was imposed... Adolf Hitler. According to the law of 1938, persons of Jewish nationality were forbidden to participate in the manufacture of weapons and armaments (§ 3) and persons of Roma origin were forbidden to possess and use them (§ 15). As can be seen, the present Estonian government has gone even further than Hitler's in regulating gun rights for Jews in an attempt to further restrict Russian residents of Estonia. (Translation: DeepL.com)

■ Latvian Russians Union to protest against removal of Pushkin’s monument in Riga (BNN)

Shelves in a provincial Russian city are groaning under piles of fresh food | As British supermarkets ration eggs and an array of fruit and vegetables amid shortages provoked in large part by the Ukraine war, no such hardships afflict Vladimir Putin's citizens. The pictures were taken at a food hall, two superstores and a corner shop in Perm, a city with a population the size of Birmingham in the Ural mountains, a 24-hour drive from Moscow. The images suggest the West's much-vaunted sanctions on Russia, imposed to punish President Putin for his invasion, are not having a deep bite.

Matt Hancock 'joked about Bill Gates Covid vaccine conspiracy theory by telling aides the Microsoft billionaire "owes me one" considering "how many people I'm getting his chips injected into",' lockdown leaks reveal. The Health Secretary referred to claims that Gates was using vaccine to track people. It is another revelation after 100,000 of his WhatsApp messages were leaked. | The then Health Secretary referred to unfounded claims that Gates had developed Covid-19 in a lab and used the vaccine to implant microchip tracking devices into billions of people. Hancock at the time was hoping to get the Microsoft billionaire to help in promoting the country's expertise in identifying coronavirus variants around the world. On January 25 2021 Hancock's media adviser Damon Poole asked him via WhatsApp if he had spoken to the director general of the World Health Organisation Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus about the New Variant Assessment Platform (NVAP) - a service offering the UK's expertise in detecting new variants of the virus.

Qin Gang also stressed that China has always been in favor of dialogue and against unilateral sanctions 💬 "The Ukrainian crisis is a tragedy that could have been avoided," Qin Gang said. According to him, the scale of the crisis is a sad lesson for everyone. "The crisis in Ukraine is essentially the result of catastrophic contradictions on European security management," the Chinese foreign minister pointed out. He also stressed that China has always been in favor of dialogue and against unilateral sanctions. The country also sought to de-escalate tensions instead of adding fuel to the fire.

■ Chinese FM: US Needs to 'Hit the Brakes' Before Conflict Becomes Inevitable With Beijing (Sputnik News)
■ China, Russia set good example for intl relations, target no third party: Chinese FM (Global Times)

The exorbitant windfall revenues amid a surge in demand and sky-high energy prices have earned Norway bitter accusations of profiteering from its numerous customers, including Germany, Poland and the EU at large. | The Norwegian state coffers earned record oil and gas revenues last year after the hostilities in Ukraine and ensuing sanctions sent energy prices soaring, Statistics Norway (SSB) reported. ● Altogether, Norway earned NOK 1.5 trillion ($140 billion) in revenues from oil and gas, by far the highest ever recorded, according to statistics, and nearly three times the NOK 498 billion ($48 billion) earned in 2021, the number-cruncher said. ● Norway, one of the world's leaders in the export of energy resources, assumed the role of the EU's top supplier following the bloc's massive sanctions campaign against Russia over its special op in Ukraine. In 2022, Brussels decided to stop imports from Russia and the Nordic country ramped up own production. ● Oslo's additional income was boosted by a record surge in European gas prices over the summer, which have since subsided.

Editor's Comment: We've never heard them complain about oil producers like Bahrain or the United Arab Emirates. Germany, Poland and the EU at large probably would not have given in to envy and anger if Norway had been a much bigger country, or more important on the world scene, if you like. What they really are complaining about, is that these windfall revenues seem inappropriate for tiny Norway, out of place kind of...In the time-honoured order of things, big countries may be rich (or not so rich) in terms of revenues, medium-sized nations a bit less so, and small countries are supposed to...well, to know their place. Plus, and this is extremely important, oil is supposed to be in the Middle East, and not up in the godforsaken North somewhere (Where is that damn country anyways?) See? Too rich for its own good - gotta send some troops up there. In fact, the U.S. already has done so, and as things now stand, they already have four bases in tiny Norway. Norway's done for. Sure thing! Germany and Poland, are you happier now?

MEP Christine Anderson in the European Parliament:

"In the entire history of mankind there has never been a political elite sincerely concerned about the well-being of regular people... Never take anything any government tells you at face value." pic.twitter.com/dJVOR4pg86

— Wide Awake Media (@wideawake_media) February 24, 2023

The United States has transferred an E-6B "Looking Glass" nuclear war command and control aircraft to Europe. In response, Russian Armed forces were issued a "nuclear clash warning" (The U.S. equivalent of DEFCON-2) by the Ministry of Defense. | The transfer of the American "doomsday plane" to Europe is allegedly a "signal" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Tuesday, the U.S. European Command moved the E-6B Mercury, also known as the "Doomsday Aircraft," to Iceland. It refueled and continued on to Europe. It is an airborne command post designed to control armed forces in a nuclear war. The current version of the aircraft entered service in 1998 and is capable of communicating directly with submarines equipped with ballistic missiles. In addition, the Mercury can also remotely control Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles. "After Russia suspended its participation in the New START agreement, the redeployment of the E-6B Mercury to Iceland can be seen as a measure of clear anti-Kremlin positioning" said sources in the US Defense Department.

ALL ROADS OUT OF BAKHMUT HAVE BEEN CUT OFF: RUSSIAN ENCIRCLEMENT OF THE CITY IMMINENT: FULL COLLAPSE OF UKRAINIAN DEFENSE IS EXPECTED WITHIN DAYS | The Ukrainian troops stationed in Bakhmut cannot retreat because of the bridges blown up by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. After the encirclement of Bakhmut reached its climax, it became known that part of the Ukrainian forces stationed in the western part of the city retreated. However, due to fears of the complete abandonment of the city, the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ordered to undermine the bridges that ensure NO possibility of retreat from the city. At the moment, at least two blown up bridges are known, however, this is enough to block the massive retreat of the Ukrainian army from the city. ● UPDATE 12:02 PM EST -- Bridge at Khromove village west to Bakhmut has been blown up. This is road number O0506. Now, the cauldron is closed: no one in, no one out.

From the leaked #LockdownFiles: UK Health Minister Matt Hancock in December 2020 asks “When do we deploy the new variant?” pic.twitter.com/s9kYASfaur

— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) March 4, 2023

Matt Hancock discussed 'deploying' new virus variant to 'frighten the pants off everyone' as former Health Secretary demands immunity on care home deaths during the pandemic | Matt Hancock told aides he wanted to 'frighten the pants off everyone' to ensure compliance with Covid-19 restrictions, leaked messages reveal, as it emerges he told top London lawyers he should be immune from prosecution just days before the WhatsApp scandal broke. In an online Q&A with law firm Mishcon de Reya, Matt Hancock accused those prosecuting Secretaries of State as 'chasing tabloid headlines' just 12 days ago, The Mirror reports. It comes as a new swathe of messages from Mr Hancock's WhatsApp account were revealed today, involving discussions over how to scare the public to limit the spread of coronavirus, and when to 'deploy' details of a new strain. The latest set of WhatsApp exchanges show Mr Hancock and others discussed how to use an announcement about the Kent variant of the virus to scare the public into changing their behaviour.

■ UK PM Backs Official COVID-19 Inquiry After 100,000 WhatsApp Messages Released To Newspaper (Zero Hedge)