Matt Hancock has so far donated just 3 per cent of the fee he was paid for appearing on I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! to charity, it has been revealed.
The former health secretary received £320,000 for his three-week stint on the reality show, of which £10,000 was donated to charity, according to the register of MPs’ financial interests.
The former health secretary vowed he would use the “incredible platform” to raise awareness of dyslexia after facing criticism from politicians and the public for appearing on the show.
As a result of the appearance, he lost the Tory whip. The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, said he was “disappointed” at Hancock’s decision to travel to Australia.
The West Suffolk MP, who is still suspended from the Conservative party, also received £48,000 for his Pandemic Diaries book, the register reveals.
A spokesperson for Mr Hancock said: “As well as raising the profile of his dyslexia campaign in front of 11-million viewers, Matt's donated £10,000 to St Nicholas Hospice in Suffolk and the British Dyslexia Association, off the back of his appearance on 'I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here'.”
After making it to the final three contestants in I’m a Celebrity... he said he would give up his seat at the next election, saying he realised there were different ways to “reach people” other than representing them in parliament.
The programme was one of the most complained-about of last year, when viewers objected to the inclusion of Mr Hancock in the series.
His local Tory association chairman wrote to the party’s chief whip Simon Hart to say the group had decided he was “not fit to represent this constituency”.
This week a 61-year-old man has been charged with assaulting former health secretary Matt Hancock on the London Underground.
Geza Tarjanyi, from Leyland, Lancashire, was charged with common assault and two public order offences, British Transport Police said.
The MP who appeared on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! is understood to have been unhurt in the alleged attack on Tuesday, which his spokesman described as an “unpleasant encounter”.
Police said they received a report of a man being “assaulted and harassed” at the station next to the House of Commons before 9am.
