Former health secretary Matt Hancock thought he should be the person to decide who would live or die if the NHS became overwhelmed during the coronavirus pandemic, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry has heard.
Former NHS England boss Lord Simon Stevens, discussing in his written evidence what would happen if NHS care had to be rationed, said Mr Hancock "took the position that in this situation he, rather than the medical profession or the public, should ultimately decide who should live and who should die".
Giving oral evidence to the inquiry, Lord Stevens added: "I certainly wanted to discourage the idea that an individual secretary of state, other than in the most exceptional circumstances, should be deciding how care would be provided.
"I felt that we are well served by the medical profession, in consultation with patients to the greatest extent possible, in making those kinds of decisions."
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