Media leaks during Covid were frustrating – Swann

The leaking of information from executive meetings during the Covid pandemic was “tolerated rather than challenged”, Robin Swann has said.

The health minister is giving evidence at the UK Covid inquiry in Belfast.

The inquiry has already heard from other ministers who expressed annoyance about leaks to the media.

Mr Swann also said that by the end of January 2020 there had been no formal meeting on Covid with the first minister and deputy first minister.

The Stormont Executive met for the first time on 3 February 2020, and the inquiry heard preparations were turned up to moderate.

Mr Swann accepted that changing the mode to “moderate” did not convey the seriousness of what was happening.

He said at that first executive meeting, ministers’ heads were probably in other places.

The first cases of the virus were confirmed in the UK in late January 2020 and events unfolded rapidly, with the first lockdown in Northern Ireland announced in March.

Earlier, Mr Swann said it was frustrating that information was often leaked “in real time” to the media.

He said he often felt it was a “deliberate” attempt to condition how the conversation about restrictions would go when the executive met.

He told the inquiry papers were often shared late with executive colleagues and would be leaked to the media, allowing a “narrative” to be established.

He added there were various attempts to stop the leaking of information, which became “so endemic that it became tolerated rather than challenged”.

“At times there was a live feed from the meetings, which left it extremely challenging at times for ministers to be open”, Mr Swann said.

Inquiry chair Baroness Hallett asked him if banning electronic devices was ever discussed as an option, to which the minister responded that various attempts to stop leaking were made.

The minister told the inquiry that there was one attempt at a leak inquiry undertaken by the then permanent secretary of the Department of Finance, Sue Gray.

He said he did not believe a finding ever came from that.

Mr Swann went on to describe how “opportunities were lost” during the pandemic as there had been no government in place for three years prior.

“Green sites could have been up and running to deal with cancer cases” while simultaneously dealing with Covid, he said.

He added that social care was reduced to a “Cinderella service” due to the mounting pressure on the healthcare system.

The health minister said it was a “lonely and challenging position” as the sole Ulster Unionist minister in the executive during the pandemic.

Mr Swann was appointed health minister in January 2020 when power sharing at Stormont returned.

But he added that on recollection it was also a “strength” as he did not have to answer to party political colleagues.

He said that during the pandemic, he believed he did have support from other parties.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill is due to give evidence on Tuesday, with her former partner in the Executive Office, Baroness Foster due to appear on Wednesday.

During the pandemic, Ms O’Neill was deputy first minister from January 2020 until February 2022, while Baroness Foster was first minister from January 2020 until June 2021.

The inquiry is due to conclude sitting in Belfast on Thursday, when Sue Gray, who is now chief of staff to Sir Keir Starmer, is due to give evidence.