None of us know what Isabel Oakeshott’s motives are, but loyalty isn’t a virtue

When considering the case of Isabel Oakeshott and her decision to leak Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages, fidelity matters far more than loyalty, says Rev George Pitcher

The more we hear of Matt Hancock, the more he becomes an irony-free zone. When journalist Isabel Oakeshott broke her non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to leak the then-health secretary’s Covid-era WhatsApp messages, he described her action as “a massive betrayal”.

For me, it was a correspondent to the letters page of The Times who nailed it, writing that Mrs Hancock might be able to tell her errant husband a thing or two about betrayal. But perhaps irony doesn’t cut it. Perhaps it’s the total loss of self-awareness that comes with the sacrifice of political service on the idolatrous altar of celebrity.