MP’s moving from Commons canteen to bushtucker trial
ONCE best known for his health policies during Covid, Matt Hancock is about to encounter a whole new audience on I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!
SwappingWestminster for the jungle is certainly an unorthodox shift for the former minister.
He had reportedly been mulling a bid to become chair of the Treasury Select Committee but opted for bushtucker trials instead of banks and bonds.
Mr Hancock, 44, was appointed health secretary in 2018 after 18 months in the culture brief.
But his career came crashing down after CCTV images emerged depicting the married minister in a steamy clinch with adviser Gina Coladangelo, breaking his own coronavirus rules.
It came after the then prime minister Boris Johnson was said to have branded his health secretary “hopeless”, in text messages revealed by former aide Dominic Cummings.
Mr Cummings also accused the former Bank of England economist of lying to the PM over promises to protect those in care homes during the first wave of Covid by testing new residents before being admitted.
Mr Hancock, who has a book called Pandemic Diaries coming out in December, dismissed claims he lied and called Mr Johnson’s “hopeless” jibe “ancient history”.
The Oxford and Cambridge-educated father of three had harboured his own hopes of leadership. He initially threw his hat into the ring to replace Theresa May during the 2019 Tory leadership contest but withdrew to champion Mr Johnson.
After the latter’s downfall during the summer, he backed Rishi Sunak amid speculation he harboured a return to a Government role.
Even as Liz Truss’s administration crumbled, his advice from the sidelines did little to dampen that speculation.
Mr Hancock said as Ms Truss clung to power: “There’s a huge amount of talent on the backbenches. I’m not talking about me, but there are many others that should be brought into Government.”
Once she resigned, he returned as a vocal Sunak backer – although his standing in the new leader’s camp was brought into sharp relief after the victorious new PM appeared to blank him as he stood at the front of the crowd at Conservative HQ.
Mr Hancock’s decision to join I’m a Celebrity has already prompted mockery, as well as swift repercussions politically.
Allies have claimed he would use his appearance to promote his backbench work on dyslexia, as he tried to “embrace” popular culture.
Sources close to Mr Hancock said: “Matt doesn’t expect to serve in government again, so it’s an incredible opportunity for him to engage with the 12 million Brits who tune in every night.”