I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! campmate Matt Hancock has come under fire from his local vicar who says he has neglected his constituents.
The Rev Max Drinkwater criticised the former health secretary's decision to enter the jungle at a time when many parishioners and constituents are struggling with the cost of living crisis. Hancock is reported to be pocketing a cool £400,000 for appearing on the hit ITV reality show.
The Mirror reports that Rev Drinkwater lashed out at Hancock during a sermon at St Mary’s Church, in Haverhill, West Suffolk, last Sunday, November 6. He told parishioners: “Our MP has quite clearly neglected his constituents by going into the jungle.”
He has added his voice to calls in the community for Hancock to resign as Member of Parliament for West Suffolk, saying the ex-Cabinet minister needs to be held accountable for his actions. The vicar added: "I’ve been pleased to see lots of messages, including from our mayor, encouraging him to resign – this is part of that fight for justice.”
Rev Drinkwater told the Sunday Mirror he stands by the comments. He said: “We have a rising cost of living and people are struggling with the uncertainty, making it very difficult to plan, to budget and to cope with the changes that are happening.
“Foodbanks were initially started to tide people over but for many local residents there is currently no hope of getting out of debt or poverty in the near future. As a vicar of the church, forgiveness is open to everybody but we’d expect to see a practical response to forgiveness by addressing some of the issues raised by his constituents.”
The vicar's criticism was made from the same church where Hancock was invited to speak four years ago about the virtues of public service. In an ironic twist, nearly 10 million viewers watched him asking for “forgiveness” on Friday's episode over his behaviour during the pandemic.
At a time when millions were following Hancock's social distancing guidance, including avoiding loved ones, CCTV images showed him in an office clinch with aide Gina Coladangelo, 43. The revelations destroyed his public credibility, prompting him to resign as Health Secretary.
His jungle campmates confronted Hancock about his behaviour during a recent episode. In response, the MP apologised for his actions and said he fell in love.
But despite the lukewarm reception from his fellow campmates, Hancock is receiving a lot of television time as viewers are continually voting for him to take part in the show's Bushtucker Trials. During Saturday's episode, he took part in Millionaire-inspired trial Who Wants To Look Silly On Air with Hollyoaks actor Owen Warner, with the pair only managing to win five out of 11 stars.
In Haverhill – population 27,000 and the largest town in his West Suffolk constituency – locals echoed the words of the Rev Drinkwater. Many are incensed that 44-year -old Hancock is earning a reported £400,000 on the show while they struggle to get by.
Wendy Norris, curate at St Mary’s, said the vicar’s intervention was highly unusual. She said it was very rare for the church to mix politics and religion, but that the people of Haverhill were united in wanting him out.
Wendy added: “The problem is Matt is focusing on other issues as opposed to his constituents, and that is what people are concerned about. Haverhill is a working-class town and we have lots of people who are finding things very challenging.”
Locals weighed in with criticism too. Carer Mary Northrop, 54, said: “It doesn’t make sense why he went in there because everywhere is struggling. You can’t plan for Christmas because you don’t know if your heating is going to be on or if you’ll have enough to put food on the table.”
Charles Dore, who runs a foodbank in nearby Newmarket, said demand for provisions had doubled in the past year. He said: “Just this morning I had a referral from a local primary school – a mother with four children who desperately need our help.”
Since going on I’m A Celeb it emerged Hancock also filmed a Channel 4 series of Celebrity SAS – to be screened next year. And Pandemic Diaries – his inside account of Covid – is out next month.
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