UK Minister Resigns After He Was Caught Kissing Colleague

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has accepted Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s resignation on Saturday after the latter was caught embracing and kissing a close aide in his office in violation of Covid-19 norms. The pictures of the same were unveiled by the popular journal The Sun where it was shown Hancock kissing a woman inside the office.

Hancock had reportedly appointed the woman to scrutinise the performance of his department at the taxpayer’s expense. And the intimate pictures were captured in May of this year when it was against the strict Covid rules in Britain. He resigned after realizing that he broke government coronavirus restrictions during an affair.

In a letter to Johnson, Hancock wrote “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. 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.”

On receiving the letter, Johnson said he was sorry to receive Hancock’s resignation, and is proud of his service so far. “You should be immensely proud of your service. I am grateful for your support and believe that your contribution to public service is far from over,” Prime Minister Johnson wrote in his letter to Matt Hancock. Soon after, Queen Elizabeth II had approved the appointment of Sajid Javid MP as a replacement.

Initially, Johnson tried to support Hancock after the issue was out to the public saying that the matter was closed. But The Sun newspaper published photos of Hancock and Gina Coladangelo, where they were seen embracing in his Whitehall offices on May 6. But the ruckus continued to mount after senior officials in Johnson’s Conservative Party said the minister’s behaviour was beyond the pale, with one highlighting the hypocrisy of Hancock.