- Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock has been suspended as a Conservative MP
- Matt Hancock was removed from the party after joining I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
- Advocacy groups have expressed concern that his appearance is in bad taste after COVID pandemic
Matt Hancock has been suspended as a Conservative MP after he joined the ITV show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
Mr Hancock joins celebrities including Chris Moyles, Boy George and Mike Tindall in Australia.
However, the West Sussex MP has been suspended (also known as “losing the whip”) while he is in the jungle.
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Simon Hart who is responsible for Conservative MP discipline took the decision after speaking to Matt Hancock directly.
The former Health Secretary resigned as health secretary in 2021 after Conservative MPs and ministers demanded that he be dismissed from government.
Matt Hancock left his post after he was caught kissing his closest aide in his office in breach of the COVID-19 he put into place.
Families who suffered bereavements during COVID-19 have said that Mr Hancock’s appearance cashes in on the coronavirus.
Advocacy group COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice said “Matt Hancock isn’t a ‘celebrity’, he’s the former 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.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman said: “The PM believes that at a challenging time for the country MPs should be working hard for their constituents, whether that is in the House or in their constituency.”
Tim Loughton, Conservative Member of Parliament for East Worthing and Shoreham said Hancock had been an “absolute prat” his suspension was “the least he deserves”.
