A TORY peer has been reported to the standards watchdog after it emerged that he helped Matt Hancock obtain a parliamentary pass for the woman with whom he was seen cheating on his wife.
The now former health secretary was pictured kissing Gina Coladangelo in his Whitehall office - despite social distancing measures in place at the time and them both having spouses.
Coladangelo had been given a role which paid £15,000 a year for between 15 and 20 days of work, funded by the taxpayer. In this role, as a non-executive director of the Department of Health, she sat on its board alongside top experts such as Chris Whitty.
Now, it has emerged that she was also given a security pass which granted her access to restricted areas in Westminster, including the Commons and the Lords.
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James Bethell, a Tory hereditary peer who is also a minister in the health department, sponsored Coladangelo’s pass until at least December 2020, according to reports in The Mirror.
The peer would have been entitled to up to three passes for secretaries and research assistants who “genuinely and personally” work for him.
However, Coladangelo has never worked for Bethell, according to reports in The Sunday Times.
As such, the unelected Tory may now face a formal investigation into whether his sponsorship of her pass broke parliamentary rules.
Bethell has been referred to the House of Lords Commissioner for Standards by the Labour party, where the complaint is being assessed.
Nine months before he was made a minister, Bethell donated £5000 to Matt Hancock’s bid to lead the Tory party.
Labour’s shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said the public needed to know why one of the former health secretary’s donors and “chums” had sponsored Coladangelo’s security pass.
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She said: “The Conservatives have serious questions to answer about how Gina Coladangelo gained the right to enter parliament unchecked.
“We need to know why she was sponsored by one of Matt Hancock’s chums in the Lords and what work she did for him.
“Access to parliament is a privilege for people who genuinely need to work there. There cannot be one rule for the Conservatives and their friends and another for everyone else.”
The Department of Health said that Coladangelo’s appointment was “made in the usual way and followed correct procedure”.
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