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LONDON — Greatest referred to as the previous British well being secretary who quit after breaking Covid distancing rules when he was caught in a steamy embrace with an aide, Matt Hancock now has one other declare to fame. He’s becoming a member of the forged of a TV present whose earlier contestants have been filmed consuming bugs and animal testicles.
Mr. Hancock is now set to spend as much as three weeks filming “I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Right here!” — a actuality present that can function celebrities together with pop stars, actors and TV hosts endeavor arduous, typically repellent, duties within the Australian jungle.
Whether or not or not Mr. Hancock is a celeb, his determination to do the present has gotten him out of 1 place: the Conservative Social gathering’s parliamentary group. He was suspended after information of his new journey emerged.
At a time when Britons are feeling a squeeze on residing prices, Mr. Hancock’s determination to hitch the filming 1000’s of miles from Parliament and his constituency in West Sussex, angered his political bosses. He’ll now have to take a seat in Parliament as an impartial after shedding get together help.
“Following a dialog with Matt Hancock, I’ve thought of the scenario and imagine it is a matter critical sufficient to warrant suspension of the whip with rapid impact,” the federal government chief whip, Simon Hart, mentioned, referring to membership of the Conservative parliamentary get together.
There was a rebuke, too, from Downing Avenue the place the spokesman for the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, mentioned members of Parliament “ought to be working laborious for his or her constituents, whether or not that’s within the Home or of their constituency.”
By no means shy of publicity whereas a minister, Mr. Hancock appears to have judged that the chance to seem in entrance of a giant TV viewers outweighs the injury to any additional political ambitions he could harbor.
He resigned final yr from his job as well being secretary after CCTV footage appeared exhibiting him canoodling with an aide, Gina Coladangelo, in his ministerial workplace, a breach of the very strict social distancing guidelines in power on the time, guidelines he helped implement.
Mr. Hancock supported Mr. Sunak within the race final month to succeed Liz Truss when she stop as prime minister. However there was no return to the federal government ranks for the previous well being secretary whose exclusion urged that his prospects of profitable one other high job in politics are fading.
Though Mr. Hancock’s participation within the present has been reported by ITV Information, “I’m a Celeb …. Get Me Out Of Right here!” has not commented, saying solely that the id of “late arrivals” to the camp the place filming is predicated “might be introduced sooner or later.”
Nor have the present’s makers disclosed how a lot the forged might be paid though some British media speculated that Mr. Hancock’s fee could be as much as £350,000, or about $400,000.
He won’t be the primary lawmaker to seem on the collection. In 2012 Nadine Dorries, a fervent help of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, was suspended from the Conservative Social gathering for her look on the identical present. Her challenges included consuming camel’s toe and ostrich anus.
She was readmitted to the get together in Could 2013 and was later promoted to the cupboard by Mr. Johnson.
Mr. Hancock’s determination provoked anger from Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice U.K., a marketing campaign group that wrote on Twitter that Mr. Hancock was not a celeb however “the previous well being secretary who oversaw the U.Okay. having one of many highest dying tolls on this planet from Covid-19 while breaking his personal lockdown guidelines,” and accused him of making an attempt “to money in on his horrible legacy.”
There was mockery from some political opponents, together with Pete Wishart, a lawmaker for the Scottish Nationwide Social gathering who mentioned that it “speaks volumes” that Mr. Hancock “would quite be stranded in a distant jungle consuming kangaroo testicles than spend a second longer on the Tory benches at Westminster” — a reference to the Conservative Social gathering’s contingent in Parliament.
And a few of his Conservative lawmaker colleagues have been essential, together with Tim Loughton, who informed Instances Radio that he was disgusted that Mr. Hancock had “put his self and a so-called movie star profession forward of serving his constituents,” describing the previous well being secretary as an “absolute prat.”
Mr. Hancock didn’t reply on to a request for remark. A political ally, who was not approved to talk publicly, mentioned that the previous minister didn’t count on to serve once more in authorities, and that the present as an unbelievable alternative for Mr. Hancock to interact with the tens of millions who tune in to the present.
The ally mentioned that actuality TV is a robust instrument for reaching youthful generations and added that Mr. Hancock could be making a donation to a hospice in Suffolk and would declare the quantity he receives in step with the principles for lawmakers.
On Tuesday Downing Avenue mentioned that it was unlikely that Mr. Sunak might be tuning in to see how Mr. Hancock performs within the duties he faces within the Australian jungle.
However one one that in all probability will is Andy Drummond, deputy chairman of the Conservative Affiliation in West Suffolk, the realm that Mr. Hancock represents. “I’m wanting ahead to him consuming a kangaroo’s penis,” he informed the Press Affiliation information company.
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