Matt Hancock has made headlines this week after signing up for the 2022 series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here. However, reports are also circulating about the former health secretary, which indicate that he spent hundreds of pounds of taxpayers’ money on buying equipment to film himself.
The serving MP, racked up a bill of £449 for a camera and a £159.97for a teleprompter last year and attributed the costs to his parliamentary expense claims. Mr Hancock has defended the claims via a spokesperson.
It comes during a week in which the West Suffolk MP explained his decision to appear on cult ITV show I'm A Celeb alongside the likes of pop icon Boy George, radio presenter Chris Moyles, soap star Sue Cleaver and England Lionesses Jill Scott.
READ MORE: Matt Hancock defends I'm A Celebrity jaunt as Ed Balls calls the move 'totally crackers'
Nottinghamshire Live sister publication, the Mirror, reported that the camera and teleprompter were filed with the parliamentary authorities last June. The elected Tory MP defended his expense claims with his spokesman saying: “The camera is owned by Parliament not Matt, and is used to communicate with his constituents and the public online.”
Since last summer, Mr Hancock has posted a series of videos on Twitter, including his endorsement of Rishi Sunak during the Tory leadership battle this summer, updates from a 100-mile trek he did around Mont Blanc and his campaign on dyslexia.
On Wednesday, November 2, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper described the ex-Health Secretary's actions as "selfish and shameful" as she called on him to quit as an MP and trigger a by-election.
She said: "Even government ministers admit Matt Hancock is failing in his job. He is abandoning his constituents by going to the jungle and is shirking from his responsibilities. In any normal workplace, he'd be sacked.
"Matt Hancock should resign and let the people of West Suffolk choose an MP who will actually serve them and treat them with respect."
Former shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, told viewers on ITV's Good Morning Britain: “Personally, I think good luck to him. But I think he is totally crackers to do this. Because I think it’s the wrong place to do it from, the wrong time and the wrong programme. To do it as a sitting MP just brings all these questions."
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