Matt Hancock warned of 'nuclear weapon' messages still yet to be exposed
Matt Hancock has threatened legal action over the leaks
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Matt Hancock has been warned "nuclear weapon" messages could be deployed if his feud with journalist and author Isabel Oakeshott escalates.
The ghost writer of the former Health Secretary's autobiography leaked 100,000 of his WhatsApp messages to a national newspaper outlet earlier this week.
A series of stories published by The Telegraph based on the private communications of Hancock reveal a number of details around the Government's pandemic response including on care homes, schools, and lockdowns.
The former minister has threatened legal action against Oakeshott for the leaks, claiming that she broke a non-disclosure agreement by passing on the information to the media.
Journalist Isabel Oakeshott said she acted in the public interest
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But warning Hancock not to take the action, the journalist warned that she had further information that she had not made public.
In what appeared to be a direct threat to the Conservative MP, she told him not to attempt to take "the moral high ground".
"I'm not going to get into a 'he said, she said' war of words with Matt about how he behaved towards me during or after that project," she told the News Agents podcast.
"There's plenty I could say, I'm not going to do that.
"Insofar as possible I would like to make this not about him or about me, because it isn't.
"We are so not going to get into the moral high ground, trust me.
"I'm not going to deploy nuclear weapons but I have them."
Oakeshott has accused Hancock of having sent her a "menacing message" after his WhatsApp messages were first published.
She said that she took action because it was in the public interest.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Hancock denied sending her a threatening text but admitted to feeling "betrayal" following her actions.
Matt Hancock said he felt 'betrayed' by Isabel Oakeshott
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He said: "I am hugely disappointed and sad at the massive betrayal and breach of trust by Isabel Oakeshott.
"I am also sorry for the impact on the very many people - political colleagues, civil servants and friends - who worked hard with me to get through the pandemic and save lives."
The former Health Secretary added: "I was accused of sending menacing messages to Isabel. This is also wrong.
"When I heard confused rumours of a publication late on Tuesday night, I called and messaged Isabel to ask her if she had 'any clues' about it and got no response.
"When I then saw what she'd done, I messaged to say it was 'a big mistake'. Nothing more."