MATT Hancock wanted to give his mistress aide a job three years ago, we can reveal.
Gina Coladangelo was touted for suitable openings in Whitehall.
A job hunt e-mail was circulated among senior mandarins in an effort to find a potential appointment.
The search came while dad-of-three Mr Hancock served as Culture Secretary for the first seven months of 2018.
A source last night insisted Ms Coladangelo was never offered a job
The revelation comes after the pair’s affair — exposed by The Sun last month — prompted Mr Hancock’s resignation as Health Secretary and the end of his 15-year marriage.
Mr Hancock, 42, and Ms Coladangelo, 43, met at Oxford University in the late 1990s
She was involved in his Tory leadership bid in 2019 and given an unpaid adviser role at the Health Department in March last year.
Later, she was made a £15,000-a-year non-executive director at the department.
Their affair was exposed as being in breach of Covid rules.
CCTV images showed them kiss in Hancock’s department office.
He then called time on his marriage to Martha.
Mum-of-three Gina’s husband is Oliver Tress, founder of fashion and lifestyle firm Oliver Bonas.
Mr Hancock was spotted in his Suffolk constituency on Friday.
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His mistress was seen in West London, not wearing her wedding band.
The Department of Culture declined to comment.
Mr Hancock was approached for a response to the story.