DOWNING Street said the Prime Minister has accepted Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s apology for breaching social distancing guidelines and “considers the matter closed”.
Hancock apologised for breaking social distancing rules after he was pictured kissing a close aide in his Whitehall department.
However, the Health Secretary made clear he intends to resist calls for his resignation following reports he was having an extramarital affair with Gina Coladangelo, who he appointed last year.
In a brief statement, Hancock said he is “very sorry” that he has let people down, but that he remains focused on his job tackling the pandemic.
READ MORE: Matt Hancock accused of cheating on his wife with close aide Gina Coladangelo
“I accept that I breached the social distancing guidance in these circumstances, I have let people down and am very sorry,” he said.
“I remain focused on working to get the country out of this pandemic, and would be grateful for privacy for my family on this personal matter.”
“You’ve seen the Health Secretary’s statement, so I would point you to that,” a spokesman for the Prime Minister said after being asked by reporters why Hancock remained in post. “I don’t really have anything further to add.
“The Health Secretary set out that he accepted he had breached the social distancing guidelines and he has apologised for that.
“The Prime Minister has accepted the Health Secretary’s apology and considers the matter closed.”
Asked whether Boris Johnson had “full confidence” in Hancock, the spokesman replied: “Yes.”
But Labour said his position has become “hopelessly untenable” and called on Boris Johnson to sack him.
The Sun published images, apparently captured from CCTV footage, of the couple together which are said to have been taken on May 6 at the headquarters of the Department of Health and Social Care.
The Health Secretary hired Coladangelo as an unpaid adviser on a six-month contract in March last year, before appointing her as a non-executive director at the department.
Hancock, who met Coladangelo at Oxford University where they both worked on the student radio station, has been married to his wife Martha for 15 years and they have three children.
Coladangelo is the marketing and communications director at Oliver Bonas, a British retailer founded by her husband, Oliver Tress.
READ MORE: Matt Hancock deletes awkward Instagram post after kissing scandal breaks
Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds said in a statement: “If Matt Hancock has been secretly having a relationship with an adviser in his office – who he personally appointed to a taxpayer-funded role – it is a blatant abuse of power and a clear conflict of interest.
“The charge sheet against Matt Hancock includes wasting taxpayers’ money, leaving care homes exposed and now being accused of breaking his own Covid rules.
“His position is hopelessly untenable. Boris Johnson should sack him.”
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