MATT Hancock is facing a backlash in his constituency after a Conservative councillor asked party colleagues to deselect the MP if the “selfish, egotistical” former health secretary did not resign.
Ian Houlder has written to the local party calling for Hancock’s deselection as West Suffolk MP for breaking coronavirus guidance by kissing an aide, which prompted his resignation from Cabinet.
“His behaviour has been beyond the pale, his honour, integrity, probity and honesty, should he have had any, trashed beyond redemption,” the Tory councillor wrote.
“He has let every member of the public down, pontificating that they should all make huge sacrifices on the altar of the pandemic, whilst doing the complete opposite himself.”
READ MORE: Matt Hancock: A middling minister's path to making scandalous headlines
The scandal, according to Houlder’s email to the chair of the West Suffolk Conservative Association, shows Hancock to be a “selfish, egotistical man”.
Houlder, who sits on West Suffolk Council, also wrote directly to the MP to say: “If you have a shred of integrity or honour you would resign without delay.
“Do the residents of West Suffolk a favour and stand down.”
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson was forced to defend not sacking Hancock, instead leaving him to resign on Saturday, the day after the scandal broke when leaked CCTV footage of the embrace on May 6 was published by The Sun newspaper.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer questioned the Prime Minister in the House of Commons over why his spokesman initially said Johnson had accepted Hancock’s apology and that he considered the case “closed”.
“The Prime Minister was happy to keep a health secretary in place during the pandemic who he not only thought was absolutely hopeless, but he also knew had broken the rules and was in a relationship with somebody he was employing at taxpayers’ expense – it doesn’t sound like case closed to me,” Starmer said.
Johnson replied: “I read the story in common with you and everyone else on Friday and we had a new health secretary in place by Saturday, which I think that, given that we have a pandemic, I think to move from one health secretary to the next with that speed was fast.”
New Health Secretary Sajid Javid also made an apparent dig at his predecessor when asked on Twitter why he was not wearing an NHS badge like Hancock always had pinned to his jacket.
“It’s not about badges, but delivering for the NHS,” Javid responded.
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