HAN-GING BY A THREAD
Boris Johnson stands by Matt Hancock and says ‘matter is CLOSED’ after he breached social distancing with affair
BORIS JOHNSON is NOT firing Matt Hancock over his secret affair and "considers the matter closed", Downing Street said this afternoon.
The PM has accepted the Health Secretary's grovelling apology for snogging his top aide - in an astonishing breach of his own social distancing rules.
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Mr Hancock is desperately clinging on to his job despite enormous pressure for him to resign following the explosive revelations in The Sun today.
Labour has branded his position "hopelessly untenable" and that the PM was "spineless" for defying a crescendo of calls to axe the Health Secretary.
A No10 spokesman this afternoon said: "The Health Secretary set out that he accepted that he breached the social distancing guidelines.
"Obviously he has apologised for that. The Prime Minister has accepted the health secretary's apology and considers the matter closed."
Downing Street insisted that Mr Johnson had "full confidence" in his under-fire Health Secretary.
The spokesman refused to say whether the pair had a meeting over the phone or in person.
And he also stonewalled repeated questioning over whether cheating Mr Hancock broken the law - and not just lockdown guidance.
In key developments:
- Matt Hancock's secret affair with aide Gina Coladangelo is exposed
- Hancock’s wife Martha leaves home still wearing her wedding ring
- Shapps tries to defend Hancock over affair calling it a ‘red herring’
- Gina Coladangelo is married millionaire mum & Oliver Bonas PR chief
- Matt Hancock’s job hangs by a thread after latest scandal
- Piers Morgan blasts ‘hypocritical’ Matt Hancock for steamy affair
- Hancock mocked by Twitter for 'if you're a woman, swipe up' post
Earlier Mr Hancock released a meagre statement saying sorry for the lockdown-busting snog with Department for Health aide Gina Coladangelo.
He said: "I accept that I breached the social distancing guidance in these circumstances.
"I have let people down and am very sorry. 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."
Bombshell CCTV footage of the married Cabinet Minister locked in a steamy clinch rocked the heart of Government this morning.
The cosy embrace in his Whitehall office on May 6 - 11 days before lockdown rules were relaxed to allow hugging - have fuelled furious claims of brazen hypocrisy and undermining confidence in the regulations.
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The affair also raises fresh concerns about Mr Hancock's decision to hire old university pal Ms Coladangelo for a £15,000 taxpayer funded role.
Millionaire lobbyist Ms Coladengelo was brought in to the Department for Health as an unpaid adviser in March last year before, being appointed as a salaried non-executive director in September.
No10 did not deny that Mr Hancock made the appointment but said it "followed correct procedure".
The images - taken as the pandemic raged and the mutant strain spread - have left Mr Hancock's Cabinet career hanging by a thread.
Cheating Mr Hancock has three children with his wife of 15 years Martha Hoyer Millar.
Ms Coladengelo is married to Oliver Tress, the founder of retailer Oliver Bonas where she also works as comms chief.
Labour called the PM "spineless" after he resolved to stand by his embattled Health Secretary.
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Party chair Anneliese Dodds said: "If Matt Hancock has been secretly having a relationship with an adviser in his office - who he personally appointed to a taxpayer-funded role - it is a blatant abuse of power and a clear conflict of interest.
"The charge sheet against Matt Hancock includes wasting taxpayers’ money, leaving care homes exposed and now being accused of breaking his own Covid rules.
"His position is hopelessly untenable. Boris Johnson should sack him."
The Lib Dems have also agitated for his resignation. MP Munira Wilson said: "This latest episode of hypocrisy will break the trust with the British public.
"He was telling families not to hug loved ones, while doing whatever he liked in the workplace."
Mr Hancock has bunkered down and scrapped a visit to a vaccination centre in his Suffolk constituency this morning.
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His wife was seen leaving their house still wearing her wedding ring but did not comment.
Fellow Ministers have closed ranks, with Grant Shapps and Nadhim Zahawi expressing confidence in Mr Hancock.
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Today's storm is the crescendo of a torrid few months for the Health Secretary after being attacked by Dominic Cummings and called "totally f***ing hopeless" by the PM.
The PM - who will be spending the weekend at Chequers - has made a habit of sticking by his under fire colleagues, having rallied round Mr Cummings and Robert Jenrick in difficult times.
Labour's Anneliese Dodds says Boris Johnson must sack Matt Hancock for breaking Covid rules by snogging aide