Matt Hancock
(Picture: PA Archive)Matt Hancock is to swap Parliament for the Australian rainforest in a move that has been criticised by several Conservative Party heavyweights and constituents.
The Tory chief whip slammed the West Suffolk MP’s decision to appear in the reality TV show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! while Parliament is sitting, and said the move is “serious enough” to warrant suspension.
Mr Hancock wrote in The Sun that he has not “lost [his] marbles”, and that it would be “a great opportunity to talk directly to people who aren’t always interested in politics”.
The former health secretary said that he hopes to use his airtime on the show as a platform to raise awareness of his dyslexia campaign. Mr Hancock wants to ensure universal screening for the learning difficulty in primary schools in England.
However, a campaign group for families bereaved in the Covid pandemic set up a petition calling for his removal from the show.
The petition quickly attracted attention, receiving more than 15,000 signatures in less than 24 hours.
The group wrote in the petition’s description that: “The fact that he is trying to cash in on his terrible legacy, rather than showing some humility or seeking to reflect on the appalling consequences of his time in Government says it all about the sort of person he is.
“Families were ripped apart by Matt Hancock’s actions, and turning on the TV to see him being paraded around as a joke is sickening,” the description continued.
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