Fury at Hancock over jungle show
FORMER health secretary Matt Hancock has been stripped of the Tory whip after signing up to join I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in the Australian jungle.
Mr Hancock was a surprise extra name added to the list of contenders, and allies said he would use his appearance to promote his work on dyslexia.
But it will mean being away from Parliament, and the Tories suspended the whip, while campaigners for families bereaved in the Covid-19 pandemic accused him of trying to “cash in on his terrible legacy”.
The response at Westminster was swift after news that West Suffolk MP Mr Hancock would join the ITV show, which starts on Sunday.
Chief whip Simon Hart said: “Following a conversation with Matt Hancock, I have considered the situation and believe this is a matter serious enough to warrant suspension of the whip with immediate effect.”
In Mr Hancock’s constituency, Andy
Drummond, deputy chairman (political) of West Suffolk Conservative Association, said: “I’m looking forward to him eating a kangaroo’s penis. Quote me. You can quote me that.”
Ian Houlder, a Conservative councillor on West Suffolk Council, said Mr Hancock has “no shame”.
“Everybody knows what he did during the Covid pandemic and he seems to want to rehabilitate himself all the time in the public eye,” Mr Houlder said.
“He’s got a skin as thick as a rhinoceros, quite frankly.”
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The PM believes that at a challenging time for the country MPS should be working hard for their constituents whether that is in the House or in their constituency.”
Mr Hancock was forced to quit as health secretary in June 2021 after breaking coronavirus social distancing rules by conducting an affair in his ministerial office with aide Gina Coladangelo.
An ally of Mr Hancock said: “There are many ways to do the job of being an MP.
“Matt’s of the view that we must embrace popular culture. Rather than looking down on reality TV, we should see it for what it is – a powerful tool to get our message heard by younger generations.”
The ally said Mr Hancock will make a donation to St Nicholas Hospice in Suffolk and he will also have to declare the amount he receives from the show to Parliament.