Hancock still wears Newcastle shirt he ‘donated’ for NHS auction
MATT HANCOCK has been seen wearing a signed football shirt he sold at auction to raise money for the NHS, claiming the winner gave it back to him.
The former health secretary donated the Newcastle United shirt for an online auction hosted by Chris Evans, the radio DJ, in 2020 to fund the purchase of NHS scrubs. On his Virgin Radio breakfast show at the time, Mr Evans said that he had asked his friends to donate “something that you’d never in a million years dream of donating”. Mr Hancock offered the shirt, describing it as his “pride and joy”. It was often on display during his television appearances during lockdown, and reportedly raised £1,850 at auction. However, Mr Hancock was seen wearing the black and white striped shirt in a video posted to his Tiktok on Sunday.
Sporting the shirt ahead of Newcastle’s Carabao Cup final match against Manchester United, he said: “So exciting, if you’ve been a Newcastle fan – we’ve waited years for this, we haven’t been to Wembley for years.” Newcastle, known as The Magpies, have not won a trophy since winning the Inter-cities Fairs Cup in 1969. They lost Sunday’s final 2-0.
A spokesman for Mr Hancock said: “Matt put his signed Newcastle football shirt up for sale as part of Chris Evans’s NHS charity appeal to raise money for scrubs, but the person who bought it very kindly gave Matt’s beloved shirt back to him as a gift.”
Mr Evans’s representatives have been contacted for comment.