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Former UK well being secretary Matt Hancock misplaced the Conservative whip on Tuesday, following stories that he’ll seem on the fact tv present I’m A Superstar . . . Get Me Out Of Right here!
Hancock, who stop the cupboard final 12 months after breaking coronavirus lockdown guidelines throughout his affair with aide Gina Coladangelo, will seem on the programme this month. The information was first reported by The Solar newspaper.
Different contestants showing on this 12 months’s present embrace former rugby participant Mike Tindall, singer Boy George and ITV information presenter Charlene White.
Hancock, the MP for West Suffolk, was vying to turn out to be the subsequent chair of the influential Home of Commons Treasury choose committee till he withdrew from the race earlier this week.
Tory chief whip Simon Hart on Tuesday confirmed that, on account of his participation within the present, Hancock could be suspended from the occasion with “rapid impact”.
“Following a dialog with Matt Hancock, I’ve thought-about the scenario and consider it is a matter severe sufficient to warrant suspension of the whip with rapid impact,” stated Hart.
In the meantime, Downing Road reiterated the necessity for MPs to deal with the pursuits of their constituents.
“The prime minister believes that at a difficult time for the nation MPs needs to be working onerous for his or her constituents, whether or not that’s within the Home or of their constituency,” a Downing Road spokesperson stated.
However an ally of Hancock defended the choice, describing the ITV present as “probably the most watched . . . on TV”. “Matt doesn’t count on to serve in authorities once more, so it’s an unbelievable alternative for him to have interaction with the 12mn Brits who tune in,” they stated.
“There are lots of methods to do the job of being an MP. Whether or not he’s in camp for in the future or three weeks, there are only a few locations individuals will be capable to see a politician as they are surely.”
Hancock, who might be paid to seem on the programme, is anticipated to make a donation to St Nicholas Hospice in Suffolk, and allies stated he would use the publicity to advocate for points together with his dyslexia marketing campaign.
The present, which started in 2002, sees celebrities and well-known faces reside within the Australian outback and undertake a sequence of challenges.
Different politicians to have appeared embrace former tradition secretary Nadine Dorries and Lembit Öpik, a former Liberal Democrat MP.
Dorries, Tory MP for Mid-Bedfordshire, in 2012 had the whip suspended for collaborating within the present whereas parliament was sitting. It was subsequently restored after she apologised for signing up for the programme with out permission.
Politicians and marketing campaign teams questioned the timing of Hancock’s resolution, his legacy as well being secretary and his duties to his constituents.
Foyer Akinnola, spokesperson for the Covid-19 Bereaved Households for Justice marketing campaign, stated Hancock “isn’t a ‘superstar’, he’s the previous well being secretary who oversaw the UK having one of many highest dying tolls on the earth from Covid-19 while breaking his personal lockdown guidelines”.
Pete Wishart, SNP MP for Perth and North Perthshire, stated: “It speaks volumes that Matt Hancock would relatively be stranded in a distant jungle consuming kangaroo testicles than spend a second longer on the Tory benches at Westminster”.
Lib Dem Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney stated: “Hancock ought to declare how a lot he’s incomes from showing on the present, and forego his MP’s wage for the period.”
ITV didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
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