Matt Hancock was right to quit and put family first, minister says

Matt Hancock made the right decision by putting his family first and quitting as health secretary after breaching Covid rules by having an affair, a cabinet minister has said.

A day after Hancock bowed to public pressure to resign after being caught kissing a friend and paid adviser, senior Tory MPs paid tribute to his work throughout the pandemic but backed his decision to stand down.

Labour has referred the matter to the Metropolitan police and sought to paint the prime minister, Boris Johnson,

as weak and presiding over a culture of sleaze for refusing to sack Hancock.

Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, said his former cabinet colleague made the right decision and it was a “credit” to him he had decided to go.

Sajid Javid, the new health secretary, said Hancock had worked hard, achieved a lot, and deserved more service in public life.

Hancock initially refused to resign after CCTV pictures emerged of him in his office kissing Gina Coladangelo, a paid adviser to the Department of Health and Social Care. He admitted breaking social distancing rules that were in place at the time but fought to stay in post, backed by Johnson.

However, a combination of mounting pressure from the public and Tory MPs as well as government concern in the run-up to the Batley and Spen byelection next week caused Hancock to change his mind and stand down.

Lewis paid tribute to the West Suffolk MP, telling Sky News’s Trevor Phillips on Sunday: “I think it’s a credit to Matt that his first thought was around making sure the country and the government can continue to do the work we need to do, as we are moving out of the Covid pandemic.”

Asked why Hancock fought to stay on, Lewis said: “You’ve got to look at these situations as they develop, in real time.”

He acccepted people were angry and frustrated at Hancock breaking the rules he himself signed into law, but added that by resigning he had “put his family and indeed all of us across the UK first”.

A Whitehall review into the CCTV leak will be carried out, Lewis confirmed.

Labour said the episode was evidence of Johnson’s indifference to the Nolan principles that underpin the moral conduct politicians should abide by – and the ministerial code.

“The prime minister seems to disregard it whenever it suits him, it’s not really worth the paper it’s written on,” said Lucy Powell, the shadow housing secretary.

She added Johnson had a “dangerous blindspot” on integrity, and called for the prime minister to scrap the up to £16,000 severance payout Hancock is entitled to.

Linda Bauld, a professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh, also said it was “very unfortunate” Johnson initially stood by Hancock. Quick action makes a difference, she said, adding ministers should lead by example and that politicians thinking it is one rule for them and another for the public “divides the country”.