A timeline of Matt Hancock’s controversies and breaches | Matt Hancock
Matt Hancock found himself at the heart of a number of controversies during the coronavirus pandemic – even before the exposure of his extramarital affair led to his resignation from the Cabinet.
Hancock resigned as health secretary a day after photographs of him embracing his aide Gina Coladangelo in what appears to be CCTV footage from inside the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) emerged.
After his breach of his own rules as captured on 6 May came to light, Hancock announced in a video shared on Twitter that he would step down, saying: “Those of us who make these rules have got to stick by them and that’s why I’ve got to resign.”
His submitted his resignation formally in a letter to Boris Johnson. The prime minister responded saying he was “sorry” to receive it and that Hancock “should leave office very proud of what (he has) achieved”.
Here is a timeline of other occasions in the past 15 months when the former cabinet minister found himself in hot water.
17 June 2020
The Health Secretary apologised for a “human mistake” after he slapped a colleague on the back in the House of Commons, despite social distancing measures still being in place to curb the spread of coronavirus.
11 October 2020
Mr Hancock was forced to deny claims that he broke the government’s Covid drinking curfew, which was in place last autumn, after reports claimed he stayed drinking in a Commons bar beyond 10pm.
19 February 2021
The high court found that the government unlawfully failed to publish details of billions of pounds worth of coronavirus-related contracts.
It was ruled that Hancock had “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. Hancock declined to apologise.
23 February 2021
Labour accused Hancock of insulting health professionals after he claimed there was “never” a national shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the early days of the pandemic.
In March 2020, the Royal College of Nursing said that some nurses were sent to treat patients on Covid wards with “no protection at all”.
26 May 2021
The prime minister’s former aide, Dominic Cummings, used his long appearance in front of the Commons health and social care and science and technology committees to allege that the health secretary had lied to the prime minister over a promise to test new arrivals into care homes at the outset of the pandemic.
Cummings said he had recommended to Johnson on several occasions that Hancock should be sacked over his handling of the crisis.
Hancock denied the care home allegations, but admitted that there were not enough tests available in spring 2020 to test everyone entering residential homes.
28 May 2021
Hancock was ruled to have committed a “minor” undeliberate breach of the ministerial code by failing to declare that a family firm in which he held shares won an NHS contract, following a probe by the prime minister’s ethics adviser.
Lord Geidt, the independent adviser on ministerial standards, found that Hancock should have declared that Topwood Ltd – a firm owned by his sister and in which he held 20% shares – was approved as an NHS contractor. But Geidt did not recommend that Hancock resign.
16 June 2021
Cummings, who left No 10 last year, published apparent correspondence between him and the prime minister in which Mr Johnson appeared to call the Health Secretary “totally fucking hopeless”.
When asked about the reported comments, Hancock called the jibe “ancient history”.
26 June 2021
The day after images and CCTV footage of Hancock canoodling with Coladangelo – who is married to Oliver Tress, who founded retailer Oliver Bonas – the health secretary announced his resignation in video clip and formal letter to the prime minister.
This came despite Johnson’s refusal to sack Hancock, with his spokesman saying he considered the matter closed after receiving the West Suffolk MP’s apology on Friday.
But on Saturday, Conservative MPs began to break ranks to call for Mr Hancock to go, with veteran Tory Christopher Chope saying his constituents were “seething”.
Hancock said in his resignation letter: “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.”
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June 27, 2021 at 02:50AM
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