MATT FINISHED
Matt Hancock RESIGNS after aide affair is exposed with humiliating pics despite Boris Johnson saying ‘matter closed’
MATT Hancock tonight resigned after humiliating footage of his romantic clinch with a senior aide was published by The Sun.
The Health Secretary quit amid mounting pressure from Tory colleagues over images of him kissing and cuddling Gina Coladangelo in a breach of coronavirus restrictions.
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Former Chancellor and Home Secretary Sajid Javid will replace Matt Hancock as Health Secretary, Downing Street announced just two hours after Hancock quit.
He finally fell on his sword admitting he had "let down" the millions who had made painful personal sacrifices during the pandemic.
Support for the minister had been dwindling after it emerged he told his wife he was leaving her on Thursday shortly after he learned his affair with married Coladangelo was about to be exposed.
Martha Hancock had no idea her husband was having an affair until he broke the news and announced their marriage was over,
Friends of the former Health Secretary say his relationship with Gina is "recent but serious".
Observers were quick to point out that he did not specifically mention his wife in his resignation letter to the Prime Minister.
He wrote: "I am writing to resign as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. We have worked so hard as a country to fight the pandemic.
"The last thing I would want is for my private life to distract attention from the single-minded focus that is leading us out of this crisis.
It comes as...
- Matt Hancock announced he was resigning almost 48 hours after his affair with his aide was exposed
- The Health Secretary told his wife he was leaving her as the affair was revealed
- Gina Coladangelo has left her position on the Department of Health board after the affair with Hancock
- Read Matt Hancock's resignation letter in full
- Boris Johnson told Hancock 'you should be proud of what you've achieved' as he accepted his resignation
- Sajid Javid will be the new Health Secretary
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"I want to reiterate my apology for breaking the guidance, and apologise to my family and loved ones for putting them through this. I also need to be with my children at this time.
"We owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down as I have done by breaching the guidance."
A downbeat Hancock also said in a video posted to Twitter: "I understand the enormous sacrifices that everybody in this country has made - that you have made. And those of us who make these rules have got to stick by them and that's why I've got to resign.
"I want to thank people for their incredible sacrifices and what they've done. Everybody working in the NHS, across social care. Everyone involved in the vaccine programme. And frankly everybody in this country who has risen to the challenges that we've seen over this past 18 months."
Prime Minister Boris Johnson later said he was "sorry" to receive Hancock's resignation.
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He said Hancock "should leave office very proud of what you have achieved - not just in tackling the pandemic, but even before Covid-19 struck us".
He added: "I am grateful for your support and believe that your contribution to public service is far from over."
Labour leader Keir Starmer then tweeted: "Matt Hancock is right to resign. But Boris Johnson should have sacked him."
CCTV images showed Hancock passionately kissing his aide - with the dad-of-three later shamelessly asking for "privacy on this personal matter".
But he admitted he had "broken social distancing rules" after lecturing the country on coronavirus regulations throughout the pandemic.
He was recorded kissing her on May 6 - while hugging was still banned.
Just ten days later, the hypocritical politician warned the country we mustn't cuddle our loved ones.
Ms Coladangelo, who has been a close friend of the former cabinet minister since their time at university, was appointed as a non-executive director at the Department of Health and Social Care last year.
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She is the marketing and communications director at British retailer Oliver Bonas, which was founded by her husband Oliver Tress.
It was reported tonight she is now leaving her position on the board of the department of health.
She was initially taken on as an unpaid adviser in the DHSC on a six-month contract last year, before being appointed as a non-executive director at the department.
The role offers pay of £15,000 a year for 15-20 days of work and is described on the Government website as, in part, "to act in an independent manner bringing expertise, scrutiny and challenge".
It is unclear whether Mrs Coladangelo has taken any pay, but a recent advert was posted for four positions before she was appointed in September 2020 which said Hancock would determine their tenure.
Matt Hancock's resignation letter in full
I am writing to resign as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. We have worked so hard as a country to fight the pandemic. The last thing I would want is for my private life to distract attention from the single-minded focus that is leading us out of this crisis.
I want to reiterate my apology for breaking the guidance, and apologise to my family and loved ones for putting them through this. I also need to be with my children at this time.
We owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down as I have done by breaching the guidance.
The NHS is the best gift a nation has ever given itself, and the dedication and courage of the NHS staff and the ceaseless work of the officials in the Department is something we should all be proud of.
We didn't get every decision right but I know people understand how hard it is to deal with the unknown, making the difficult trade-offs between freedom, prosperity and health that we have faced.
I am so proud that Britain avoided the catastrophe of an overwhelmed NHS and that through foresight and brilliant science we have led the world in the vaccination effort, so we stand on the brink of a return to normality.
The reforms we have started in the health system will ensure it continues to provide even better care for people in years to come.
We are building a better NHS which makes smarter use of technology and data, forming a new UK Health Security Agency, delivering positive changes to mental health care and will fix the problems in social care once and for all.
Many times I stood at the podium in Downing Street and thanked the team - my own team, the NHS, the volunteers, the Armed Services, our pharmacists, GPs, the pharmaceutical industry and the whole British publish who have made such sacrifices to help others. Those thanks are heartfelt and sincere so I must resign.
It has been the honour of my life to serve in your Cabinet as Secretary of State and I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved.
I will of course continue to support you in whatever way I can from the back benches, and I would like to thank you for your unwavering support, your leadership and your optimism, particularly as we worked together to overcome this awful disease.
Tonight's resignation came despite the PM yesterday refusing to fire the embattled Health Secretary saying the matter was closed.
MP Duncan Baker, who represents North Norfolk, became the first serving Conservative to openly call for him to go.
He said: “In my view, people in high public office and great positions of responsibility should act with the appropriate morals and ethics that come with that role.
"Matt Hancock - on a number of measures - has fallen short of that.”
Work and Pensions Secretary and Tory MP for Tatton Esther McVey then urged Hancock to step down.
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She said: "If it had been me, I would have resigned myself."
Veteran Tory MP Sir Christopher Chope told Radio 4 the AGM of his local party association had "unanimously called on Matt Hancock to resign immediately".
He said: "They felt that he was in breach of the ministerial code; that he was in breach of the lockdown regulations; that he is the person who has been passing the laws, signing off the regulations, requiring people to comply with restrictions upon their freedom - many of which people don't agree with - but they've complied with out of respect for the rule of law.
"And they're absolutely seething now, that having made sacrifices themselves, including not seeing loved ones and all the rest of it, they find that the person who was in charge of all this feels free to not comply with his own regulations and I think that's the essence of it really."
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He added: "I agree with that. I think that his position is untenable. For that reason, the sooner he does the honourable thing and announces his resignation, the better - because otherwise it is not going to go away."
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Families who lost loved ones to coronavirus had earlier written to the Prime Minister after he refused to sack Hancock in the wake of his secret affair being exposed.
They slammed Boris's decision to keep the Health Secretary as a "slap in the face" to the thousands of families of Covid victims.
Matt Hancock caught on video kissing aide Gina Coladangelo at his Whitehall office
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