Covid campaign group calls Matt Hancock being on I'm a Celebrity 'sickening'

The biggest news coming out of Westminster this week is the shock decision from Matt Hancock to sign up for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!.

Hancock has made efforts to rebrand himself after leaving his position as health minister in disgrace, from rocking up on the Diary of a CEO podcast in a turtleneck to taking part in Celebrity SAS Who Dares Wins.

But this is the biggest yet, and it’s sparked a big pushback online.

Let’s not forget that the father-of-three was forced to quit as Health Secretary in June 2021 after breaking coronavirus lockdown rules by conducting an affair in his ministerial office with aide Gina Coladangelo.

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Remarking on his decision to join the ITV show, campaign group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice called it "sickening" and called for him to be removed from the programme.

The group wrote on Twitter: "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."

Shortly after the news broke earlier this Chief Whip Simon Hart announced: “Following a conversation with Matt Hancock, I have considered the situation and believe this is a matter serious enough to warrant suspension of the whip with immediate effect.”

His decision prompted an instant backlash on Twitter, with the Taxpayers’ Alliance describing it as a “grubby spectacle” that will leave a “bad taste in the mouths of constituents”.

Hancock has been widely criticised following the decision to join the showHollie Adams/Getty Images

Hancock defended his decision to join the show in a piece for The Sun, saying it’s “a great opportunity to talk directly to people who aren’t always interested in politics”.

“There are many ways to do the job of being an MP. Whether I’m in camp for one day or three weeks, there are very few places people will be able to see a politician as they really are,” he wrote.

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