Matt Hancock has been left red-faced after claiming the ex-Mayor of Liverpool had died.
The former Health Secretary claimed that Joe Anderson was ‘unfortunately no longer with us’ when giving evidence to the COVID-19 enquiry on Friday.
Hancock’s remarks were made while explaining how regional restrictions were implemented as the government sought to ease the country out of lockdown.
But he erroneously suggested that Anderson, who stepped aside from his role as council leader in 2020, had passed away despite evidence to the contrary.
He said: “The Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson – not the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region (Steve Rotheram) who I know has been a witness.
“Joe Anderson, unfortunately no longer with us, he was incredibly supportive.
“We ended up in Liverpool having a package of measures that was effective after a very constructive negotiation and discussion in a spirit of collaboration.
“He was a Labour Mayor, the parties really didn’t matter at this point.”
Anderson responded to the claim by saying on X, formerly Twitter, “Just took my pulse and I seem to still be here and I feel ok.”
The 65-year-old resigned as mayor after being arrested alongside four people as part of a police investigation into the city’s building and development contracts.