As revelations from 100,000 messages emerge, here’s a reminder of the pandemic reality at the time
With lockdowns and enforced distancing a fading memory for many, and masks a relatively rare sight, it can be tricky to view the revelations from a horde of Covid-era government messages in the context of the time in which they were sent.
Below are five stories from the 100,000-plus WhatsApps passed by Matt Hancock to the journalist Isabel Oakeshott, who handed them on to the Daily Telegraph, and a reminder of where the UK was, clinically and politically, amid the progress of the pandemic.