A petition to stop former Health Secretary Matt Hancock from appearing on I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! has reached 18,500 signatures.
Just yesterday, the petition was launched by Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK to stop the Tory MP from appearing on the ITV show as many are outraged that he is being branded a 'celebrity'. Many say that having to watch Mr Hancock appear on the reality show will cause "real pain and anguish to those of us who lost loved ones to Covid-19".
Earlier today, the politician arrived at Brisbane Airport, and Hancock, who has been suspended by the Tory party in the wake of his signing being revealed, has said he is joining I’m A Celebrity so he can "go to where the people are — not to sit in ivory towers in Westminster."
The MP said "I haven’t lost my marbles" by deciding to join the reality show after being suspended from the parliamentary Conservative Party and that his "first priority" is to his constituents as he flew over 10,000 miles to join the programme. Mr Hancock has defended his decision whilst speaking to The Sun, saying entering the jungle is “a great opportunity to talk directly to people who aren’t always interested in politics”.
But many have been angered by the decision and have called for a stop to be made to him entering the jungle. The petition reasoning reads: "Matt Hancock isn’t a ‘celebrity’, he’s the health secretary who oversaw the UK having one of the highest death tolls in the world from Covid-19 whilst breaking his own lockdown rules. The fact that he is trying to cash in on his terrible legacy, rather than showing some humility or seeking to reflect on the appalling consequences of his time in Government says it all about the sort of his person he is.
"Families were ripped apart by Matt Hancock’s actions, and turning on the TV to see him being paraded around as a joke is sickening. If he had any respect for families who lost loved ones to Covid-19, he would be sharing his private emails with the Covid Inquiry, not eating bugs on TV.
"Then again, perhaps if those emails came to light no TV station would touch him with a barge pole. ITV should do the decent thing and remove him from the programme. Over 200,000 people lost their lives to Covid-19 across the UK. Matt Hancock was at the very centre of decisions such as locking down late, allowing large scale sporting events to go ahead as the virus ran rampant and failed to get our healthcare workers the PPE they needed.
"On top of that he was fired after breaking the rules he helped set. His profiteering and shameless search for publicity in the run up to his book launch is another insult to already grieving families."
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