UK's health minister denies claim he lied amid the pandemic

LONDON (AP) — British Health Secretary Matt Hancock has defended his handling of the coronavirus pandemic following a series of damaging allegations from Prime Minister Boris Johnson's former top adviser.

Facing questioning from lawmakers, Hancock said Thursday that he had “no idea” why Dominic Cummings had a dispute with him and that he'd become aware that Cummings had wanted him fired.

“I'm not responsible for anybody else's testimony, but I'm really pleased to have the chance to come here to be able to tell you the truth,” Hancock said.

Two weeks ago, Cummings told lawmakers investigating the virus outbreak in the U.K. that Hancock “should have been fired” for a series of lies and for a litany of errors during the pandemic. Among the charges, Cummings said Hancock had claimed that during the early stages of the pandemic that people discharged from hospitals were being tested for the virus before going back to their nursing homes.

Hancock denied that he had said anything to the prime minister that he knew to be untrue and added that Johnson's Conservative government was functioning better as a result of Cummings' departure at the end of last year.

“I think the best thing to say about this, and this will be corroborated by lots of people in government, the best thing to say, is that government has operated better in the past six months," Hancock said.

In his testimony, Cummings also lashed out at Johnson, saying he was “unfit” for the job of prime minister and that tens of thousands of people had died needlessly during the pandemic because of delays in ordering a succession of lockdowns.

The U.K. has recorded nearly 128,000 coronavirus-related deaths, more than any other nation in Europe. After a devastating winter surge of infections, deaths have fallen sharply...