Matt Hancock will be joining I'm A Celebrity as a surprise guest but the journey to his controversial appearance has been rocky.
Over the last two years, Matt Hancock has suffered through a difficult political career alongside former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.
As the health secretary, Mr Hancock was tasked with delivering updates and vital information to the British public during the height of the coronavirus pandemic but found himself facing fierce backlash for allegedly breaking his own party's rules. In October 2020, he was forced to deny claims he broke the covid drinking curfew after he was accused of remaining in the Commons' bar until long after 10 pm.
READ MORE: Reason Matt Hancock is joining I'm A Celebrity after turning it down
Just a few months later, in February 2021, Mr Hancock was found to have "breached his legal obligation to publish contract award notices within 30 days of the award of contracts" after spending "vast quantities of public money" on procurement in 2020. He didn't ever apologise for the breach.
His peers in the House of Commons attacked him several times, specifically Boris Johnson's former aide, Dominic Cummings, using the opportunity to accuse Mr Hancock of lying to the Prime Minister over covid testing promises. His handling of the situation led several MPs to call for his sacking which was only intensified by Labour accusing him of "insulting" health professionals with his claims there was "never" a shortage of PPE equipment.
In May that year, he was found to have committed a "minor" breach of ministerial code for failing to declare a family firm in which he held shares won an NHS contract, following a probe by the prime minister’s ethics adviser. A firm his sister owned was approved as an NHS contractor but Lord Geidt, the independent adviser on ministerial standards, said he didn't recommend Mr Hancock resign over the breach.
After months of backlash from both members of the public and his peers for his performance as health secretary, Mr Cummings labelled him as "totally f****** hopeless", which Mr Hancock brushed off. The nail in his professional coffin came when CCTV footage leaked of him kissing Oliver Tress' wife, Gina Coladangelo.
The backlash proved too much for Mr Hancock as he handed in his letter of resignation several days later. As he is set to jump head first into the public gaze again by joining the I'm A Celebrity cast, a source close to him said he's hoping to use the platform to highlight important issues, including promotion of his dyslexia campaign.
He said he was "flattered" by the opportunity but had already refused to join the show several times before. Citing the country's "instability" at the time, he said now is the perfect time to let loose and join the show as he believes the current Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has everything under control.
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