British Health Secretary Matt Hancock has stepped down from his post after he was found to be kissing his aide Gina Coladangelo in violation of social distancing rules that he himself had formulated. CCTV images of Hancock passionately kissing his aide were first published by The Sun tabloid, leaving the disgraced health secretary red-faced.
In his resignation letter, Hancock said that he did not wish the controversy over his private life to be a distraction from the government’s efforts on taking the country out of the pandemic.
“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,” he wrote.
Coladangelo too has left her position at the Department of Health and Social Care in the wake of the controversy, which has also impacted the personal life of Hancock. The outgoing health secretary is married to Martha Hoyer Millar for 15 years and they have three children together.
Matt Hancock wrote, “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.
“We owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down as I have done by breaching the guidance.”
According to The Sunday Times, Martha had no idea her husband was having an affair until Hancock broke the news and announced that their marriage was over in the wake of the controversy.
Meanwhile, Hancock said in his resignation letter, “We didn’t get every decision right but I know people understand how hard it is to deal with the unknown, making the difficult trade-offs between freedom, prosperity and health that we have faced.
“I am so proud that Britain avoided the catastrophe of an overwhelmed NHS and that through foresight and brilliant science we have led the world in the vaccination effort, so we stand on the brink of a return to normality.”
The leaked CCTV images were from 6 May when the social distancing rules around close contact indoors for people from separate households were strictly in place.