Matt Hancock may have broken ministerial rules by failing to ask the authorities for permission to head to the jungle to appear on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!
The former health secretary did not ask Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) watchdog whether it was appropriate to join the reality show.
The chair of the committee, Tory peer Eric Pickles, is set to write to Mr Hancock to seek an explanation, The Independent understands.
The ministerial code says ex-ministers must check with Acoba about “any appointments or employment they wish to take up” within the first two years of leaving office.
But Mr Hancock’s spokesperson has said is still within rules, because they allow for “one-off broadcasts” on the media without permission.
The West Suffolk MP has been suspended from the party, but defended his decision in an article in The Sun, claiming he is participating in the show so he can “go to where the people are - not to sit in ivory towers in Westminster”.
