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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Ben Glaze

Commons Speaker blasts Matt Hancock for 'running around jungle eating kangaroo testicle'

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has blasted Matt Hancock’s I’m A Celebrity stint as “running round a jungle eating kangaroos' testicles”.

The Conservative Party suspended the whip as soon as it emerged the former Health Secretary would be flying to Australia for the ITV hit show.

The new I'm A Celeb contestant will reportedly still be entitled to his MP salary of £84,144 while he is Down Under.

The West Suffolk MP will also be paid around £400,000 to appear as a campmate on the new series, it has been claimed.

But he has been widely slammed for taking part, with the Speaker saying: "Would I do it?

I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here is calling for Matt Hancock (Tim Merry/Mirrorpix)
But his arrival has not gone down well back home (Tim Merry/Mirrorpix)

“I'm a Member of Parliament, am I going to go running round a jungle eating kangaroos' testicles? Absolutely not. No is the answer. I wouldn't do it."

He urged voters in Mr Hancock’s West Suffolk constituency to “make their feelings known”.

Sir Lindsay told Sky News: "It's not what I think, it's what his constituents think, because they're the people that matter.

“We're elected to represent those people, they voted for him, and they will have the answer.

Matt Hancock worked as Health Secretary through the coronavirus pandemic (Getty Images)

“They have the answer for politicians - if you don't like it, they'll get rid of us.

“Of course, his own party have decided to discipline (him) as well.

“So what I will say is, I look from here and say his constituents will make their voice heard, they will make their feelings known, and in the end, you've got to put your constituents first."

The Mirror spoke to voters in Mr Hancock’s rural constituency earlier this week, who attacked his appearance on the ITV show during a cost-of-living crisis and when Parliament is sitting.

A probe is being launched into whether the MP should receive his taxpayer-funded salary while in the jungle, as questions have been raised over whether he followed the rules on seeking jobs within two years of leaving office.

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