Tag: Matt Hancock

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Matt Hancock suspended over jungle reality show

There was also a less than enthusiastic response to the news in West Suffolk, east England — the area represented by Hancock in parliament…reports Asian Lite News

Matt Hancock, the former health minister who led Britain’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, was suspended by the ruling Conservative Party after he signed up for jungle-based reality television show “I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.”

Hancock, who quit government after he was filmed kissing an adviser in breach of lockdown rules, will join pop singer Boy George, ex-England rugby union player Mike Tindall and England soccer player Jill Scott in the line-up for the hit program.

The long-running ITV show sees celebrities undertake challenges such as eating insects and being enclosed with snakes, before contestants are eliminated by public votes.

The Conservative Party said it had withdrawn the whip, meaning he was effectively suspended from the parliamentary party, after hearing he would be going to Australia to take part in the show when parliament was sitting.

“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,” Chief Whip Simon Hart, who handles party discipline, said on Tuesday.

There was also a less than enthusiastic response to the news in West Suffolk, east England — the area represented by Hancock in parliament.

Andy Drummond, deputy chair of the local Conservative association, said he was “looking forward to him eating a kangaroo’s penis,” according to PA Media.

The COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign group also criticized the move.

“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,” said spokesperson Lobby Akinnola.

“If he had any respect for the families like mine, he would be sharing his private emails with the COVID Inquiry, not eating bugs on TV.”

Hancock, 44, was at the center of Britain’s fight against COVID as health secretary, routinely appearing on television to tell people to follow strict rules and to defend the government’s response.

But he quit in June 2021 after the married minister was caught on security video footage breaking social distancing rules by kissing and embracing an aide in his office.

Hancock backed Rishi Sunak to become prime minister, but he was not rewarded with a ministerial position, and reports said he does not expect to serve in government again.

Sunak’s spokesman said the prime minister believed lawmakers should be working hard for their constituents while Britain was facing a cost of living crisis.

Asked if Sunak would watch Hancock on the show, the spokesman said: “I think that’s unlikely.”

British media quoted sources close to Hancock saying his appearance would “show the human side” of politicians, and he would use his time in the jungle to promote his dyslexia campaign.

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Hancock ‘sorry’ for breaking Covid-19 rules

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has accepted the apology issued by Health Secretary Matt Hancock and considered the matter closed, reports Asian Lite News

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has admitted breaching social distancing guidelines after pictures of him in a clinch with an aide were published in a newspaper.

Hancock said he had “let people down” after photos emerged of him with Gina Coladangelo – whom he appointed – and he was “very sorry”, the BBC reported.

“I accept that I breached the social distancing guidance in these circumstances. I have let people down and am very sorry,” Hancock said in a statement.

“I remain focused on working to get the country out of this pandemic, and would be grateful for privacy for my family on this personal matter,” he added.

Hancock
(Credit: The Sun/twitter)

Meanwhile, Labour has demanded the Prime Minister to sack Hancock, calling his position “untenable”, it was reported.

However, a Downing Street spokesman said the prime minister accepted the apology issued by the health secretary and considered the matter closed.

The spokesman added that the prime minister had full confidence in the health secretary.

The Sun reported that its pictures of Hancock and Coladangelo, who are both married with three children, had been taken inside the Department of Health on 6 May.

Social distancing at work is not a legal requirement, but the government recommends that people keep 2m apart where possible, or 1m with “risk mitigation”, such as standing side-by-side or wearing masks, according to the BBC report.

The Health Secretary Matt Hancock

Delta variant dominates

With 35,204 new cases of the Delta Covid-19 variant getting reported last week, the UK has seen a 46 per cent increase in the variant of concern, the Public Health England (PHE) said on Friday.

The total number of confirmed Delta cases now stands at 111,157 — with 102,019 of these recorded in England, 7,738 in Scotland, 788 in Wales and 612 in Northern Ireland, the Sky news reported.

The Delta variant, first identified in India, now comprises 95 per cent of all sequenced cases in the UK, PHE added.

Last week, it made up 99 per cent of Covid cases across the UK, with about 42 of the latest cases belonging to the Delta plus variant (AY.1 sub lineage) — thought to be more transmissible than the original Delta variant.

The PHE also reported of a new strain, Lambda. It has been categorised as a variant under investigation with six cases detected between February 23 and June 7. Of these, five had been linked to overseas travel.

The PHE has asserted that two doses of vaccine are still effective at providing protection against the risk of hospitalisation.

It added that there is currently no evidence that the new variant causes more severe disease or renders vaccines less effective, the report said.

Further, the PHE noted that of the 514 people hospitalised in England due to Covid in the week up to June 21, 304 were unvaccinated.

About 117 cases of deaths in England so far has been confirmed as having the Delta variant. Of these, eight were under the age of 50.

Six of these eight people were unvaccinated, while two died after more than 21 days of receiving the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, the report said.

“On Friday, 15,810 new cases and 18 deaths within 28 days of a positive test were reported across the UK,” the PHE said in a tweet.

While 43,877,861 people have now received the first dose of a Covid vaccine in the UK, 32,085,916 have received their second dose, it added.

People walk at Potters Fields Park in front of the Tower Bridge in London, Britain, June 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Han Yan/IANS)

The data suggests “we have begun to break the link between cases and hospitalisations”, Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, was quoted as saying.

She also warned against complacency and urged people to get vaccinated.

“While vaccines provide excellent protection, they do not provide total protection, so it is still as important as ever that we continue to exercise caution.

“Protect yourself and the people around you by working from home where possible, and by practising ‘hands, face, space, fresh air’ at all times,” Harries said.

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SPECIAL: Matt Hancock Must Go

If Matt Hancock was a doctor, he’d be facing the General Medical Council’s (GMC) Fitness to Practice panel for his incompetence and lies. He is not fit to be a practice manager of a GP surgery, let alone a health secretary. He should be sacked immediately …… writes Dr Kailash Chand

I agree with DC!  Who can disagree with Boris Johnson’s Man Friday Dominic Cummings when he asked for Health Secretary Matt Hancock to be sacked for “criminal” behaviour and consistent lies?

I have watched more than a dozen health secretaries since I came to UK in 1978, and I have never encountered a health secretary who is incompetent, lies so regularly, so shamelessly and as systemically as, Matt Hancock.

The department of health was a “smoking ruin” in the early days of the COVID pandemic, and remains in shambles.

The government’s procurement system before 2020 was an “expensive disaster zone” and when the coronavirus pandemic hit, it “completely fell over.” He claimed putting s shields around ‘CARE HOMES ‘quite the opposite he did, he sent the people with covid back to care homes to die. Throughout this pandemic, Matt Hancock consistently exhibited that he prioritises the interests of private companies’ profits over public health. That’s why he handed billions of pounds of contracts to Tory party donners and his mates in the private sector rather than invested properly in our NHS and local public health teams.

DR KAILASH CHAND: I have watched more than a dozen health secretaries since I came to the UK in 1978, and I have never encountered a health secretary who is incompetent, lies so regularly, so shamelessly and as systemically as, Matt Hancock. The department of health was a “smoking ruin” in the early days of the COVID pandemic, and remains in shambles

I have watched more than a dozen health secretaries since I came to UK in 1978, and I have never encountered a health secretary who is incompetent, lies so regularly, so shamelessly and as systemically as, Matt Hancock.

The department of health was a “smoking ruin” in the early days of the COVID pandemic, and remains in shambles

Matt Hancock’s track record is plain for all to see. An NHS on its knees, broken, flailing, over 128,000 died, including over 900 health workers in the pandemic and now patients suffering in their millions on waiting lists.

He has managed to insult and alienate NHS staff across the board. Including GPs and consultants, who are considering retiring early is staggeringly high and is a huge worry for the NHS and patient care. The health service could be left with a shortage of clinicians, with the remaining doctors spread too thinly. This has huge implications for recruitment and retention for the medical profession. We will have fewer staff in an even less safe NHS coping with post covid illness.

If Matt Hancock was a doctor, he’d be facing the General Medical Council’s (GMC) Fitness to Practice panel for his incompetence and lies. He is not fit to be a practice manager of a GP surgery, let alone a health secretary. He should be sacked immediately.