Hancock is a cheap, shabby cheat

Former health secretary Matt Hancock will be going into the I’m a Celeb jungle (Image: Getty)Actually Matt we think a whole lot more than that. We think it’s a dereliction of your duty as an MP. We think you’ve made a  monumental error of judgement and that whatever pathetic reasons you’re currently peddling for being in Oz when you should be here looking after your constituents, the only one we believe is that you’re there for the rumoured £350,000 fee. Of course we shouldn’t be surprised Hancock’s taken the I’m A Celebrity gig because the fact is there aren’t many career opportunities for the disgraced former Health Secretary who in 2021 was forced to resign after he betrayed his wife of 15 years, Martha, and broke his own social distancing rules when he was caught snogging his mistress Gina Colandangelo in his Whitehall office.That said, with Rishi’s appointment as PM Hancock must have been harbouring hopes that Dishy Rishi’s triumphant return would also see him hauled out of the political wilderness and brought back into cabinet.But those hopes were publicly and savagely dashed last week when, just after he’d been elected, Rishi arrived at Tory HQ to the clapping and the cheering of delighted colleagues. Hancock was in the front row sporting a beaming smile clearly hoping his political comeback was imminent. But Rishi soon disabused him – and the rest of us – of that. The newly elected PM got out of his car and rushed over to the front row where he hugged and shook hands with everyone – except  Matt Hancock.The snub was brutal. Rishi didn’t just give Hancock the cold shoulder he ‘iced’ him out of the picture entirely. He didn’t look at him, or smile at him, he just totally blanked him.It was hard to watch, and for a moment I almost felt sorry for Hancock. Almost……Because it felt like Rishi had publicly knifed him through the heart and all Hancock could do was stand there while he bled. The smile that, just seconds before, had reeked of hope froze on his face and he looked devastated.  Because in that moment it became clear to Hancock there was going to be no political resurrection for him, no triumphant return. He wasn’t coming back into Government anytime soon. If ever…  So, no I’m not surprised he accepted the big bucks to be in I’m a Celebrity. When the show’s bosses came calling – he says for the third time this year – there wasn’t much else out there for a disgraced ex- Health Secretary that the new PM had just wiped his feet on. So he took the money. But surely people’s outrage at him going into the jungle can’t be  a surprise  to Hancock. He must surely know he’s toxic not just in politics but in the country as  a whole. Because not only did he humiliate and betray his wife and their three kids with Coladangelo he was caught passionately snogging her at a time he’d been telling the rest of us we had to stick to strict social distancing rules.  People were – and still are – furious with him because he broke the rules he insisted WE follow. But worse, many people lost loved ones during the pandemic. And, because they were forced to stick to Hancock’s rules, they didn’t get to say goodbye to husbands, wives, mums, dads and grandparents. And for many this remains raw to this day.  So for Hancock that wasn’t just the beginning of the end. It was The End.   And if Rishi was hacked off with him last week he’s likely to be incandescent now. Because not only has Hancock deserted his West Suffolk constituents but the headlines around this Jungle story are detracting from the PM’s first two weeks in office while he’s trying to deal with this country’s worst crisis in decades. And it gets worse, the second stage of the Covid Inquiry has just started and Hancock should have been here and available to give evidence. His absence makes it look like he doesn’t care what happens with the inquiry and of course, as Health Secretary during Covid, he absolutely should.And what makes that perception worse is that his new book, Pandemic Diaries, is being published just in time for the Christmas sales which makes it seem like he’s cashing on one of the direst periods in our history.  It also feels disrespectful to those who suffered and died.Even more galling is the fact that despite his huge fee he’s still pocketing his salary as an MP (£84,144 a year) – although judging by his constituents’ reaction to his Jungle foray that might not be for long. They’re livid that he’s gone into the jungle because they know he can’t properly represent them when he’s 10,000 miles away munching on a kangaroo’s penis. And trust me he’s going to be doing a lot of that.Whatever genitals and entrails there are to be eaten in this year’s show Hancock’s going to be eating them because the public are going to vote for him to do every awful trial there is.But surely the point here is how seriously does he take his job as an MP when he can so easily abandon his constituents who have stuck by him during his hard times to swan off and make a  TV career for himself – which incidentally he’s never going to do. The man is about as interesting as wallpaper paste. He’s been invited into the Jungle as a Mickey-take, to be made a fool of.And he must surely know that. Or maybe his ego is so huge he’s convinced himself he’s a big draw. Well actually he is – but for all the wrong reasons.And he’s nuts if he thinks we’re buying his pathetic justification that: ‘I’m there to talk directly to people who aren’t always interested in politics.’ Pull the other one Matt.’I want to go where people are – not to  sit in ivory towers in Westminster.’Oh pass the sick bucket… no Matt, you’re there to make shedloads of cash because you’re unlikely to ever make that kind of money anywhere again.  He insults our intelligence claiming he’s in the jungle to get down and dirty with real people.There’s nothing stopping him doing that in West Suffolk where his constituents would quite like him to be.He’s saying he’ll promote his dyslexia campaign while he’s there. Yes, I’m sure he will but he’ll still be making a truckload of cash while he’s doing it and when he should be at work in Westminster.It’s tempting to gloat and say ‘How the Mighty Have Fallen.’ It’s tempting to say – how could he stoop so low? But what I’m asking myself today is what the Hell happened to integrity, to decency, to our elected representatives doing the right thing? What Hancock has done is shabby and cheap and not befitting his position as a member of Parliament. But then is he any worse than those jackals who almost destroyed the Tory Party a few weeks ago and nearly took Britain down with them?It feels like they’re all made of the same disappointing stuff…