Leaked messages capture former Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s furious reaction after footage of him kissing aide Gino Coladangelo during the Covid pandemic was published
I’m A Celeb: Matt Hancock grilled on lockdown affair
It’s been four years since Matt Hancock’s affair with aide Gina Coladangelo became public knowledge – but for many of us, it doesn’t feel that long ago. The grim images capturing the-then Home Secretary clinched in a passionate embrace with Gina inside the Department of Health sparked national outrage, as social distancing restrictions were in place.
As millions of people stayed away from their loved ones to stop the spread of the virus, the news that Hancock was caught snogging a co-worker didn’t go down well. Yesterday, a public inquiry concluded that chaos at the heart of government and a failure to take Covid-19 seriously cost 23,000 lives in the first wave of the pandemic.
Specifically, it found that cabinet members – including Health Secretary Hancock – plus key scientists all failed to act with the urgency needed to tackle the virus. As the pandemic unfolded, Hancock “gained a reputation among senior officials and advisers at 10 Downing Street for overpromising and underdelivering”.
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With his credibility shattered, Hancock resigned, and unsurprisingly, his 15-year marriage to Martha Hoyer Millar came to an abrupt end. Leaked messages from the time show the ex-MP trying to rescue his career after learning that photographs of him embracing Gina were about to be published. They show him discussing the guidance in place at the time, and mulling over what his initial response should be.
As he awaited publication in June 2021, Mr Hancock asked a special adviser: “How bad are the pics?” “Told it’s a snog and heavy petting”, he replies: “How the f*** did anyone photograph that?” The messages also show the reaction of Hancock and Ms Coladangelo to a video obtained by The Sun. “OMFG”, Ms Coladangelo said. Hancock said: “Crikey. Not sure there’s much news value in that and I can’t say it’s very enjoyable viewing.”
They were among more than 100,000 messages leaked by journalist Isabel Oakeshott to the Daily Telegraph. In his memoir, worked on with Ms Oakeshott, Hancock said that he resigned as Health Secretary after colleagues failed to defend him publicly. By his own account, he said that Boris Johnson had assured him he could carry on even though he and Ms Coladangelo had been pictured kissing in his office in breach of his own social-distancing guidelines.
But after the story broke, Mr Hancock said he found himself “increasingly isolated” politically and was left with no choice but to quit. It comes as the public inquiry yesterday found cormer prime minister Boris Johnson presided over a “toxic” culture in Number 10 and regularly changed his mind, while cabinet members including health secretary Matt Hancock plus key scientists all failed to act with the urgency needed to tackle the virus.
Baroness Heather Hallett’s report on the government response to Covid accused Johnson of being too “optimistic” in his outlook in the early months of 2020. The inquiry found that the first and second lockdowns of the pandemic were not inevitable, but the government was left with no choice after failing to implement measures such as social distancing and household quarantine earlier.
Not imposing any lockdown at all when it became apparent there was no choice would have “led to an unacceptable loss of life”. However, bringing in lockdown a week earlier, on March 16, would have cut deaths in the first wave to July “by 48% – equating to approximately 23,000 fewer deaths” in England, according to modelling, the report said.
The weakness of the restrictions in the middle of 2020 and Johnson’s “oscillation” enabled the virus to continue spreading at pace, and ultimately resulted in a second lockdown.
Lady Hallett said in a video statement: “There was a serious failure by all four governments to appreciate the level of risk and the calamity that the UK faced and the need to inject urgency into the response. The obviously escalating crisis required leadership from the very top.”
Sir Keir Starmer said the Government would “carefully consider” Lady Hallett’s report. The Prime Minister said in a statement that he wanted to “take the opportunity to acknowledge the pain and suffering the pandemic caused”, adding there had been “improvements” in the way the Government would respond to a major crisis.
He was later asked if the public could be assured that the UK would be up to taking on another pandemic. “Of course we are taking measures to make sure that, not just the NHS but the Government as a whole, is prepared for any number of eventualities because we have to learn the lessons of Covid and that’s why we’re looking very carefully at the report,” he told reporters on his way to the G20 summit in South Africa.