Matt Hancock has defended taking a slot on this year's ITV I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! The former health secretary said he was entering the jungle to “go to where the people are – not to sit in ivory towers in Westminster”.
Facing fresh Tory criticism, the serving MP has been pictured arriving in Australia for the show. Cabinet minister Mark Harper said Mr Hancock had not made the “right judgment”, according to news agency PA, and would now have to decide whether he wants to continue as an MP on his return.
However, the disgraced former minister, insisted: “I haven’t lost my marbles” by deciding to join the reality show insisting his “first priority” is to his constituent. Hancock has been suspended from the parliamentary Conservative Party.
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Ed Balls, former shadow chancellor who took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2016 after leaving politics, told viewers on ITV’S Good Morning Britain that he is worried it could be a misjudgement by the former health secretary.
He said: “Personally, I think good luck to him. But I think he is totally crackers to do this. Because I think it’s the wrong place to do it from, the wrong time and the wrong programme. To do it as a sitting MP just brings all these questions.
“He’s lost the whip, Sunak the Prime Minister is clearly furious, his constituents are going to be up in arms. He’s been paid to do this while he’s also going to the jungle. I mean, look, to be fair, Boris Johnson was on a Caribbean beach two weeks ago and he’s a sitting MP. But you know, this is a different thing.
“Secondly, this is the guy who was the health secretary during the pandemic, we have not had the inquiry yet. And therefore, it just brings back for so many people so much pain and suffering and it’s not something that you can make light of, until we’ve gone through that inquiry process.”
The West Suffolk MP insisted his “first priority” is to his constituents as he flew more than 10,000 miles to join the ITV show, which starts on Sunday. A casually dressed Mr Hancock was spotted arriving in Brisbane as he prepares to enter the jungle.
Mr Hancock had the Tory whip suspended by chief whip Simon Hart, who described the situation as “serious”.
Transport Secretary Mr Harper told Sky News: “The chief whip has made the position clear, which is he’s made a decision that going on I’m A Celebrity is not compatible with doing your job properly as a Member of Parliament.”
Pressed on whether Mr Hancock should stand down as an MP, Mr Harper said: “What he chooses to do in the future is a matter for him.”
However, Mr Harper told LBC: “I think we can draw conclusions from the fact that the whip has been taken away that perhaps Mr Hancock hasn’t made the right judgment in this case.”
Mr Hancock defended his decision in an article for The Sun, arguing it is “a great opportunity to talk directly to people who aren’t always interested in politics”. He said reality TV is an “honest and unfiltered” way to communicate with voters.
“There are many ways to do the job of being an MP. Whether I’m in camp for one day or three weeks, there are very few places people will be able to see a politician as they really are.”
Mr Hancock said he wants to use the “incredible platform” to raise awareness of dyslexia and insisted it “wasn’t the cheque” that made him decide to join the show. He said he turned down the programme “twice this summer” but had a “change of heart” after workers asked a third time last week.
Adding that it was not the money that changed his mind, saying he will make “a donation” to St Nicholas Hospice Care in Suffolk, though he does not say he will give up the full amount.
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