One of the most exposed men in Johnson’s government is Matt Hancock, the British Health Minister. The British left holds him partly responsible for Downing Street’s appalling response to the pandemic (nearly 128,000 official deaths). He has become a pet motif of Dominic Cummings, the disgraced former special adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who never misses an opportunity to call for his resignation. A few days ago, the queen even blurted out on her: ” poor man “ (poor), without understanding if Elizabeth II was really ironic or sympathetic to her fate.

The pressure was further accentuated on this ambitious man, a former collaborator of Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, after a resounding first from the Sun, which shows in “one”, on Friday, June 25, a photograph that is a bit blurred but leaves little room for doubt. In this screenshot from a surveillance camera (dated May 6, at the facilities of the Ministry of Health), we can see the 42-year-old Minister of Health kissing a woman fully on the mouth. This is Gina Coladangelo, 43, a collaborator of the minister, explains the newspaper.

Mr. Hancock is married, the father of three children, the same goes for M^I Coladangelo, in connection with Oliver Tress, founder of the ready-to-wear brand Oliver Bonas. But the scandal is not here: in early May, the British were still not supposed to have close contact with people outside their bubble or home; this recommendation was not lifted until May 17.

“A deplorable Minister of Health”

These “social distancing” rules, Matt Hancock has never failed to remind you. On May 16, for example, live on Sky News, he said: “We all have to be careful, we all know the risks, meeting outdoors is better than indoors”. In 2020, he had been among the harshest on star epidemiologist Neil Ferguson, calling for a police investigation after the Daily telegraph revealed that he received a woman at his home during the first confinement.

In addition, the national media questioned the – somewhat opaque – appointment conditions of Mr.^I Coladangelo at the Ministry of Health: she works there as a non-executive director and is paid by the British taxpayer 15,000 pounds (17,500 euros) a year. This career lobbyist met Mr. Hancock when they were students at Oxford. Both received a radio station on the prestigious campus. Hancock ended up apologizing at noon on Friday, admitting to violating sanitary rules: “I did not respect the rules of social distancing in these circumstances, [ma conduite] disappointed and very sorry ”, he said on Twitter.

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