US defence secretary says he takes ‘full responsibility’ for secret hospitalisation

Lloyd Austin apologises for lack of disclosure but questions about medical procedure and the secrecy surrounding it remain unanswered

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin has said he takes “full responsibility” for secrecy surrounding an ongoing, week-long hospitalisation for a still-unspecified medical condition.

Austin, who is 70, was admitted on New Year’s Day to Walter Reed national military medical center for what the Pentagon has said were “complications following a recent elective medical procedure,” a fact the defence department kept under wraps for five days.