Time.news – He resisted for 24 hours, then he had to resign: Matt Hancock has left his post as Minister of Health. It was not the management of the Covid epidemic in the UK that overwhelmed him, but a fiery kiss with collaborator Gina Coladangelo, hit on the front page of the Sun.
When the scandal came to light, Hancock tried to deflate the affair, apologizing for not respecting the rules of social distancing: the photo dates back to May 6, when citizens had to avoid physical contact with people not belonging to their circle.
Apologies accepted by the premier Boris Johnson who, despite being under pressure, yesterday confirmed his confidence in his minister, who has often ended up on the grill recently. But faced with the mounting of the affair, Hancock could not help but resign.
“The last thing I want is for my private life to distract attention from the one goal that is taking us out of this crisis,” he said, referring to the vaccination campaign.
“I want to reiterate my apologies for breaking the rules and apologize to my family and loved ones for letting them go through this. Labor opposition also for the opaque appointment of Coladangelo to lead his team of consultants.
Arrived at the ministry about a year ago, the 43-year-old daughter of an Italian pharmaceutical magnate she has been friends with Hancock since the days they both attended Oxford University. But, above all, it is there wife of Oliver Tress, a very prominent man, owner of the jewelry and furnishing accessories chain Oliver Bonas, which has 85 stores throughout the country.
Downing Street boss said he was “sorry” in receiving the letter of resignation: “Dear Matt, you should leave the office very proud of what you have achieved, not only in dealing with the pandemic, but also before Covid hit us”.
“I am grateful for your support and believe your contribution to public service is far from over,” Johnson stressed. For the leader of the Labor opposition, Keir Starmer, Hancock was right to leave, but it is BoJo who “should have fired him”.
Just last week, Hancock was back in the blizzard, after Johnson’s former super-consultant Dominic Cummings made public a Whatsapp message exchange he had with the premier in spring 2020, during the first wave of Covid. , in which the minister was defined as “incapable”.
He will be the former Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid to take over from Matt Hancock at the head of the Ministry of Health. Downing Street announced it.
A former Minister of the Interior from 2018 to 2019, Javid was Chancellor of the Exchequer until February 2020 before being replaced by Rishi Sunak. His exit from the government was triggered by a confrontation with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who demanded that the minister sack all his advisers and surround himself with people indicated directly from Downing Street.
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