A Tory MP has become the first to go on record and call for Matt Hancock to resign for his lockdown-breaching relationship with Gina Coladangelo.
Duncan Baker, the MP for North Norfolk, who was elected in 2019, told his local newspaper the Eastern Daily Press that “people in high public office and great positions of responsibility should act with the appropriate morals and ethics that come with that role”.
“Standards and integrity matter to me,” he said, adding: “I will not in any shape condone this behaviour and I have in the strongest possible terms told the government what I think.”
Meanwhile, flowers have been delivered to the house Mr Hancock shares with his wife, Martha. Pink peonies in a glass vase were placed on the front doorstep by a florist delivery man who arrived just after 10am.
He is believed to be staying at their house in Suffolk at the moment while Mrs Hancock has remained at the home in London with their children.
Demonstrators gather outside No 10
Demonstrators have gathered on the streets outside Downing Street as part of the anti-lockdown protests going on in central London today.
Flares are being set off, and loud chanting, whistling and music continues.
People have started shouting “Shame on you” and pointing towards No 10, followed by prolonged booing.
Govt told to accept ‘warts and all’ school lessons about empire
The government has been urged to accept “warts and all” lessons about the British empire and its role in the slave trade”, after it refused to make teaching of the subjects compulsory.
MPs will debate a petition, signed by more than 268,000 people, demanding “a far more inclusive curriculum” – rather than leaving it up to head teachers to decide whether the legacy of “colonisation” is taught.
Ahead of the clash, a survey by the think tank British Future has found strong public support for the move, with 63 per cent of people believing children must learn about all its “controversies and complexity”.
Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick reports:
London hit by anti-lockdown protests
Thousands of anti-lockdown protesters are walking down Northumberland Avenue in central London carrying placards and flags.
Drums, whistling and chanting can be heard for some distance around, with people young and old taking part.
“We are here to take our freedom back,” one speaker stood on a plinth near Embankment Station told crowds.
Participant Iain McCausland travelled to London from Devon to attend the rally. He said: “The main reason I’m here is because I feel this lockdown has come at the cost of our liberty and rights. Our freedom to assemble, our freedom to travel, and work. I’m really quite angry with the government, so are everyone here.”
Who leaked it? A Q&A about Hancock CCTV footage
The PA news agency has put together a Q&A about the CTV footage of Matt Hancock, and how the images may have become public.
What are the rules on CCTV usage?
Users of CCTV must ensure they comply with strict rules covering personal privacy rights and data protection. A principle piece of law is the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) which controls how personal information is used by organisations, businesses or the Government.
Companies must tell people they may be recorded, usually through signage, control who sees recordings and ensure the system is only used for its intended purpose – for example to detect crime. Monitoring of staff without their knowledge is only allowed in exceptional circumstances, such as if they are suspected to be breaking the law, and can only be done as part of a specific investigation.
Who can see CCTV footage?
Under the DPA’s principles those responsible for using personal data must ensure it is used fairly, lawfully and transparently, for specific purposes, in a way that is relevant and limited to what is necessary, kept for no longer than is necessary and handled in a way that ensures appropriate security.
Anyone can request to see images recorded of them and businesses usually must provide the footage free of charge within one calendar month. Police may also request to see CCTV footage.
What rules cover the media’s use of recorded footage?
The Sun has attributed its report of Mr Hancock’s affair to whistleblowers. It is not clear how the footage of the Health Secretary kissing his aide was recorded and shared.
The newspaper’s political editor Harry Cole told the BBC’s PM programme on Radio 4 that the outlet was confident of its sources, and said the images had come from “a concerned Whitehall whistleblower who thought they deserved a wider audience”.
Did Mr Hancock know there was a camera in his office?
The Daily Telegraph reported that Mr Hancock had no idea the camera in his office existed, with a Government source telling the newspaper it was “unheard of” to have cameras inside ministerial offices. Concerns over security have also been raised if footage could be leaked from within private offices.
Should there be an investigation?
The Cabinet Office said it would never comment on security issues but it is understood that no cross-government probe has been launched so far.
The Metropolitan Police said: “No criminal investigation has been launched. At this time this remains a matter for the relevant government department.”
What has No 10 said?
The PM’s deputy spokesman would not be drawn, when asked on Friday, over whether an investigation would be launched.
However, the Guardian reported that neither Downing Street nor the Department of Health and Social Care think launching an official probe is a good idea, suggesting the government already believes it knows who could have leaked the footage and they would be able to claim protection as a whistleblower exposing wrongdoing.
Irish government must stop ‘cheerleading’ Protocol, says DUP
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has warned the Irish government to stop “cheerleading” for the Northern Ireland Protocol, saying north-south relationships would be impacted if ministers in Dublin did not change stance.
“The Irish government has to step away from being a cheerleader for one part of the community. If the Irish government is genuine about the peace process, is genuine about protecting political stability in Northern Ireland, then they too need to listen to unionist concerns,” he said.
“It’s not just London, Dublin also need to understand that if we’re going to move forward and have co-operation, if they’re intent on harming our relationship with Great Britain, they cannot expect that it will be business as usual on the north-south relationship.”
Sir Jeffrey added: “The Belfast agreement is very clear – the three sets of relationships are interlocking and interdependent. If you harm one element, one relationship, you harm all of them. If the Irish government continues to support the imposition of a protocol that harms our relationship with Great Britain then, by implication, it harms the relationship between Dublin and Belfast.
The moment Hancock embraces his married aide
A minute-long CCTV footage of Matt Hancock embracing his alleged married lover has been released, prompting one of the biggest political scandals of the year.
Gina Coladangelo walks towards the health secretary before they become entwined together in a passionate embrace in the corridors of power at Whitehall.
Mr Hancock said he was “very sorry” for letting people down and breaching social distancing guidelines, but made clear in his statement he would not resign.
Read our full report here:
Covid rules create atmosphere of ‘finger-wagging and hypocrisy,’ says MP
Tory MP William Wragg appears to have jumped to his colleague Matt Hancock’s defence with this tweet.
Mr Wragg argues coronavirus regulations are “arbitrary” and should end.
Sir Jeffrey discusses Irish language legislation and ‘harmful’ Protocol
Speaking about the UK government’s move to legislate for Irish language at Westminster, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson was asked whether he would seek to revisit the issue.
The new leader of the DUP said he was “very clear” that if the government proceeds to concede to Sinn Fein demands and goes over the head of the Assembly on these issues and, at the same time, fails to address unionist concerns on the Protocol, that is not a sustainable position that it would “not be a tenable position”.
He said: “I don’t want to see things imposed on the people of Northern Ireland that they can’t support. I don’t want to see Westminster acting over the heads of the people of Northern Ireland. The people here elected their representatives to do a job. They have a mandate and they should be allowed to do that job.”
Sir Jeffrey added the “Protocol is doing enormous harm to our economy” and said it was time to “find another way of doing things”.
150 million meals a year thrown away rather than given to hungry, reports suggest
Supermarkets, farmers and manufacturers are being incentivised to dump good-to-eat surplus food as waste rather than donating it to feed the hungry as a result of a £600m government subsidy scheme, The Independent has revealed.
Three programmes pay public money to waste operators that use anaerobic digestion (AD) to create biogas from food waste – with a fourth due to start in the autumn for a further £150m, taking the total subsidisation to £750m.
As a result, the equivalent of 150 million meals in edible food is sent to AD plants each year, at a time when research from the Food Foundation shows that 30 per cent of parents are worried about feeding their children this summer, reports David Cohen.
McVey: ‘If it had been me, I would have resigned’
Former work and pensions secretary Esther McVey tells GB News she hopes Matt Hancock “comes forward” and resigns.
