UK Health Minister Matt Hancock resigned on Saturday after being caught violating COVID-19 restrictions by kissing and hugging an assistant in his office, a fact that infuriated his colleagues and British nationals who have been living under lockdown.
In the latest scandal to shake the government, which has seen one of the highest death toll from the coronavirus pandemic, Hancock, 42, wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to announce his resignation, saying he had disappointed the British people. .
Since the Sun newspaper on Friday published photos of the minister – who is married – embracing a woman he had appointed to public office designed to examine the performance of his portfolio, an increasing number of his fellow Conservative legislators have asked him privately to resign.
Hancock has been at the center of the government’s fight against the pandemic, routinely appearing on television to tell people to follow strict rules and to defend his department against criticism of his response to the crisis.
His departure means Johnson will need to appoint a new minister to take over the reins of a huge department responsible for overseeing the health service and fighting the virus, at a time when UK cases have started to rise again.
Johnson had said Friday that he accepted Hancock’s apology and considered the matter closed.
“We owe it to the people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down, as I did by breaking the rules,” Hancock said in his letter, while Johnson responded by saying he regretted the situation.
“You should be immensely proud of your service,” he wrote. “I am grateful for your support and I believe that your contribution to public service is far from over,” he said.
The Sun showed Hancock kissing his assistant in his office last month, at a time when it was against the rules for people to have intimate contact with someone outside their home.
