The message to Matt Hancock was loud and clear - “COVID BEREAVED SAY GET OUT OF HERE!" These were the words on a 35-metre banner which circled the I'm a Celebrity jungle camp jungle for two hours.
Campaign groups 38 Degrees and Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice took to the skies to send the disgraced former health secretary a message he couldn't miss. It comes as public anger as over 44,725 people signed a petition, calling for ITV to reverse their decision to make him a campmate.
Meanwhile across the country, former viewers of the programme hit hard by Covid have spoken out about the distress and anger his inclusion is causing them. Among them is Lobby Akinnola who lost his father to the virus.
"Matt Hancock isn’t a celebrity, he’s the former health secretary who oversaw the UK having one of the highest death tolls in the world from Covid-19 whilst breaking his own lockdown rules," he said. "He’s the man we wrote to over a year ago asking him to pass over his private Gmail emails relating to the handling of the pandemic to the new health secretary in readiness for the Covid Inquiry.
"He’s the man who didn’t even respond to us. He's claimed the inquiry will set the record straight, but it can only get to the truth if it has the evidence it needs."
Despite facing widespread criticism, the disgraced former health secretary pushed ahead with his decision to enter the jungle - earning a reported £400,000 for his participation. After news of Mr Hancock's upcoming stint on the show emerged, he was swiftly suspended from the Tory whip with immediate effect.
Lobby said: "He should be at home sending in those emails rather than being rewarded with £400,000 for not doing his job. His transparent attempt to sell more books and cleanse his public profile has failed, just like the 'protective ring' he dared to suggest he had placed around care homes.”
The pilot of the plane received a "first-of-a-kind" noise complaint, suggesting the banner was seen and heard by celebrity campmates and the show’s crew. The plane was flying over the ITV show’s base camp, just north of Murwillumbah on the New South Wales/Queensland border.
And Matthew McGregor, CEO of 38 Degrees said: "No one has forgotten how Matt Hancock conducted himself during the Covid-19 pandemic. Not the general public, not his campmates, and certainly not those who lost loved ones.
"Our message emblazoned across the skies makes crystal clear to Matt Hancock: you should be representing the people of West Suffolk and giving Covid bereaved families the answers they deserve, rather than playing games for dingo dollars, plastic stars and a £400,000 pay cheque."
A spokesperson for Matt Hancock said previously: “Matt will be making a donation to St Nicholas Hospice in Suffolk and causes supporting dyslexia off the back of his appearance. He will also declare the amount he receives from the show to Parliament to ensure complete transparency, as normal.”
