Matt Hancock has quit over his lockdown-breaching ‘clinch’ with taxpayer-funded aide Gina Coladangelo.
His resignation, which was announced at 6.15pm, came after at least two Tory MPs went on the record to call for him to go.
Sajid Javid will return to the cabinet after being named as Hancock’s replacement.
Barely an hour after his appoinment, arch-enemy Dominic Cummings attacked him as ‘useless’ and said he would be ‘awful for the NHS’.
Mr Hancock is believed to be staying at the couple’s constituency home in Suffolk and is reported to have left his wife, who remains at their London home with their children.
Hancock ’shameless to the very end’ says Rayner
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said Hancock was resigning “because of what would have been in the Sunday papers, not for breaking the Ministerial Code, breaking the law, breaking his own rules, handing out taxpayers’ money to his mates or causing tens of thousands of avoidable deaths.”
Hancock’s position was untenable and his legal ‘shameful’
Matt Hancock’s legacy is “shameful,” writes Sean O’Grady.
“Hancock’s position was untenable, as is the idea of him standing up at that Downing Street podium, flanked by Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance, dishing out the rules he had failed to follow himself.
“It’s said he will make a comeback before long, but the Tory party can’t be that short of talent. Can they?”
Javid ‘honoured’ to be back in cabinet
Sajid Javid said he is “honoured” to have been asked to serve as health secretary after Matt Hancock’s resignation.
“I look forward to contributing to our fight against the pandemic, and serving my country from the cabinet once again,” he tweeted.
Javid warned he must tackle ‘substantial backlog’ in NHS care
Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers – which represents NHS trusts, said Sajid Javid’s “immediate challenge” was to steer the NHS through the Covid-19 pandemic while supporting the health sector to “clear the substantial backlog of care”.
“More than five million patients are now waiting for treatment, demand for mental health and emergency services is rising fast and we face a potentially difficult winter on the horizon. These are significant tasks. This is all alongside making plans to live with Covid-19 over the longer-term,” she said.
“Workforce pressures will also be top of the in-tray for the new Secretary of State. We have asked so much of our staff during the past year and they need rest and reward to tackle burnout, boost morale and prepare for the challenges ahead,” she added.
Matt Hancock ‘has left his wife for aide’
Matt Hancock’s relationship with Gina Coladelangelo is ‘recent but serious’ and he has left his wife for her, according to Sky News’ Beth Rigby.
Matha Hancock, who has been married to the MP for 15 years, is thought to be at their family home in London this weekend.
Dominic Cummings demands ‘regime change’
Perhaps more ominously than calling the new health secretary useless is Mr Cummings’ call for “regime change.”
The extraordinary demand suggets his relentless attacks on his former ally Boris Johnson are likely to continue or even escalate.
Dominic Cummings suggests Javid is ‘useless’ and chosen by Johnson’s wife
Dominic Cummings has charged into Saturday night Twitter with an attack on just about everyone at No10.
“So Carrie appoints Saj!” he posted, suggesting the prime minister’s wife has chosen the new health secretary.
“Saj = bog standard = chasing headlines + failing = awful for NHS,” he added — a description Mr Javid is likely to regard as a badge of honour, given the source.
The two men were at loggerheads after Mr Johnson demanded Mr Javid remove his special advisers, apparently at the behest of Mr Cummings.
Hunt welcomes ‘decent’ Javid with dig at Hancock
Another former health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, described the appointment of Sajid Javid to replace Matt Hancock as an “excellent choice.”
In a veiled dig at Mr Hancock, he described the Mr Javid as “decent and (perhaps rarely in the trade) 100% full of integrity.”
Mr Hunt, who ran against Boris Johnson in the 2019 Tory leadership race, has emerged as a critic of the present government.
Corbyn: Hancock should have quit over care home deaths
The health secretary should have quit over his handling of the pandemic, says Jeremy Corbyn.
“Matt Hancock should have resigned over the Serco contract, the Care Home deaths, the PPE disaster and the treatment of NHS workers and carers,” he wrote.
Sajid Javid appointed health secretary
Former chancellor Sajid Javid is to return to the cabinet as health secretary replacing Matt Hancock, Downing Street has announced.
Mr Javid is also a former home secretary, but has been on the backbenches since being forced out by Boris Johnson in a resuffle.
