But a Labour spokesperson says ‘when taxpayers’ money is involved or jobs are being offered to close friends who are in a personal relationship with a minister, then that needs to be looked into’
25 June 2021 - 16:21
byEmily Ashton
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
UK health secretary Matt Hancock leaves 10 Downing Street, London, with aide Gina Coladangelo on May 1 2020/ Picture: GETTY IMAGES/DAN KITWOOD
The UK government defended health secretary Matt Hancock after The Sun newspaper said he had been having an affair with a close aide.
The newspaper published two photos of Hancock embracing Gina Coladangelo, apparently in his Whitehall office in May. The pair are friends from Oxford University and are both married with children. Hancock’s office did not immediately return requests for comment from Bloomberg.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps, speaking to Times Radio as part of Friday’s ministerial media round, said: “What somebody does in their private life is their private business. We’re living in the 21st century.”
Coladangelo, a former director at lobbying firm Luther Pendragon and current shareholder, was appointed by Hancock as an unpaid adviser to the department of health in 2020. She was later made a nonexecutive director at the department, a role that pays £15,000 a year, according to the Sun. Hancock chairs the departmental board.
A spokesperson for Labour, the main opposition party, said the issue isn’t the affair but the potential conflict of interest, because “when taxpayers’ money is involved or jobs are being offered to close friends who are in a personal relationship with a minister, then that needs to be looked into.”
The revelations will pile pressure on Hancock at a delicate time, following repeated criticism over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. It emerged earlier in June that Prime Minister Boris Johnson branded Hancock “hopeless” last March in a private message to his then aide Dominic Cummings.
Hancock defended his response to the coronavirus pandemic in a parliamentary hearing earlier in June, saying he acted with “honesty and integrity” throughout the crisis. Until the rapid rollout of vaccines, the government was repeatedly criticised over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, which has left the UK with one of the world’s highest death tolls.
Hancock, who is responsible for the National Health Service in England, was also accused of “cronyism” in April after NHS Wales awarded two contracts to a company he owns shares in. His sister is a director of the firm.
Bloomberg. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
UK defends Matt Hancock after report of affair
But a Labour spokesperson says ‘when taxpayers’ money is involved or jobs are being offered to close friends who are in a personal relationship with a minister, then that needs to be looked into’
The UK government defended health secretary Matt Hancock after The Sun newspaper said he had been having an affair with a close aide.
The newspaper published two photos of Hancock embracing Gina Coladangelo, apparently in his Whitehall office in May. The pair are friends from Oxford University and are both married with children. Hancock’s office did not immediately return requests for comment from Bloomberg.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps, speaking to Times Radio as part of Friday’s ministerial media round, said: “What somebody does in their private life is their private business. We’re living in the 21st century.”
Coladangelo, a former director at lobbying firm Luther Pendragon and current shareholder, was appointed by Hancock as an unpaid adviser to the department of health in 2020. She was later made a nonexecutive director at the department, a role that pays £15,000 a year, according to the Sun. Hancock chairs the departmental board.
A spokesperson for Labour, the main opposition party, said the issue isn’t the affair but the potential conflict of interest, because “when taxpayers’ money is involved or jobs are being offered to close friends who are in a personal relationship with a minister, then that needs to be looked into.”
The revelations will pile pressure on Hancock at a delicate time, following repeated criticism over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. It emerged earlier in June that Prime Minister Boris Johnson branded Hancock “hopeless” last March in a private message to his then aide Dominic Cummings.
Hancock defended his response to the coronavirus pandemic in a parliamentary hearing earlier in June, saying he acted with “honesty and integrity” throughout the crisis. Until the rapid rollout of vaccines, the government was repeatedly criticised over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, which has left the UK with one of the world’s highest death tolls.
Hancock, who is responsible for the National Health Service in England, was also accused of “cronyism” in April after NHS Wales awarded two contracts to a company he owns shares in. His sister is a director of the firm.
Bloomberg. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
British court rules government acted unlawfully over Covid-19 contract
As global Covid-19 vaccinations rise, focus shifts to learning to live with the virus
Will Boris Johnson allow life as pre-Covid normal to resume on June 21?
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
DESNÉ MASIE: Bounce-back Boris strikes again
Johnson, Hancock shrug off Cummings’s attack
Johnson urges caution as he warns of India strain’s threat to UK unlocking
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.