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

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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. The Pentagon has yet to detail why Austin is being treated, whether he lost consciousness over the past week or offer details on when he might be discharged from the hospital. “I recognise I could...