‘Totally shameless’ Hancock donates 3pc of his £320,000 I’m a Celebrity fee to charity

‘Every gift we receive is a vital contribution, especially during these challenging times’

MATT HANCOCK has pocketed the lion’s share of his I’m A Celebrity fee, so far donating 3 per cent to charity, new figures show.

Updates to the MPS’ register of financial interests reveal that the former health secretary made £320,000 from his 30-day stint on the ITV reality show last year. Of this, his team said that he gave £10,000, or roughly 3 per cent, to St Nicholas Hospice in Suffolk and the British Dyslexia Association.

Mr Hancock said he would donate a portion of his fee to good causes and also promised he would use the “incredible platform” – where he could “show what I am like as a person” – to raise awareness of dyslexia.

The West Suffolk MP, who was diagnosed with the learning difficulty while a student at Oxford, opened up about his experience two weeks into the series, explaining that he “desperately wanted to learn” at school but struggled with English.

A spokesman for Mr Hancock said: “As well as raising the profile of his dyslexia campaign in front of 11 million viewers, Matt’s donated £10,000 to St Nicholas Hospice in Suffolk and the British Dyslexia Association, off the back of his appearance on I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!.”

The size of the donation prompted criticism on social media, with Jo Maugham, a barrister, describing it as “totally shameless”, while Rachel Clarke, a palliative care doctor, called it “deeply cynical stuff ”.

However, the hospice thanked Mr Hancock for his “generosity”, pointing out that it would struggle to keep going “without our community’s kindness”. The charity said: “Every gift we receive is a vital contribution, especially during these challenging times.” Mr Hancock remains suspended from the Conservative Party for taking time off from parliament duties to appear on the show.

The updated register also reveals that Boris Johnson received nearly £1 million in a month to bring his earnings this Parliament up to £2.3million.

The former prime minister secured £510,000 as an advance on his forthcoming book, described as “a memoir like no other”.