Matt Hancock – live: MP defends Sunak as ‘great’ prime minister amid resignation demands

LIVE – Updated at 06:30 Matt Hancock defended his appearance on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! amid demands for his resignation, saying his participation was acceptable as British politics was in a more stable position with Rishi Sunak as prime minister. Before flying to Australia to enter the jungle, the MP for West Suffolk came under fire for his decision to take as many as three weeks away from his duty to constituents, with Mr Sunak being ‘very disappointed’ in his former cabinet colleague. Speaking with fellow campmate Charlene White, a journalist and Loose Women presenter, the former health secretary maintained that his participation was justified because there is now ‘stability’ in UK politics after the tumult of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss’s failed premierships.’We’ve had stability for all of five minutes Matt,’ replied Ms White, to which Mr Hancock said: ‘Rishi’s great, he’ll be fine.’Meanwhile, the councillors in his constituency have said that Mr Hancock should ‘do the honourable thing and resign’, asking him to ‘clear the pitch for someone who wants to serve the people of West Suffolk’. Matt Hancock says Sunak is ‘great’, as he defends participating in reality showHancock’s constituents call for him to resignMatt Hancock’s jungle arrival met with shock, incredulity and laughterUK set to be only nation with lower employment than before Covid 06:30 , Namita Singh The number of people placed into permanent jobs by recruitment agencies has fallen for the first time in 20 months, according to new research.The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) said placements into temporary roles had stagnated.A survey of 400 recruiters found many mentioned that heightened economic uncertainty had led some employers to reassess their recruitment plans, while candidate shortages also affected hiring plans.The steepest rate of reduction in permanent placements last month was in London, said the report.Claire Warnes, Partner, Skills and Productivity at KPMG UK, said: ‘The looming recession is clearly impacting the UK jobs market. Employers’ caution in hiring combined with fewer available candidates has resulted in the number of permanent placements falling for the first time in nearly two years.’Now more than ever, it’s essential that we focus on upskilling the workforce to support and boost economic recovery when it comes. The jobs market will bounce back, particularly if we invest in the skills of the workforce across all sectors of the economy.’Neil Carberry, Rec chief executive, said: ‘The economic and political uncertainty of September and October has caused employers to become more cautious in their approach to hiring than during the frenzy of earlier in the year.’Vacancies and pay are still rising, temporary worker demand is high, and permanent hiring has fallen for the first time in almost two years.’PA 06:20 , Namita Singh Nurses have urged politicians to ‘get round the table’ and start addressing their concerns to avoid disruptive strike action which would see NHS operations and appointments cancelled in a mass walkout.The nursing union’s boss said members had been ‘pushed’ to the position where striking was their only option, adding that nurses can no longer be ‘ignored’ by ministers.Exhausted and underpaid staff have tried every other way to get the government to listen, Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen said.Read more here: © Provided by The Independent Government urged to listen to nurses after historic vote to strike over pay 06:10 , Namita Singh A strike by transport workers in London will cause travel chaos today, with limited services on the Tube.Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) and Unite are involved in a long-running dispute over jobs and pensions which has led to previous industrial action.Passengers were urged to check before travelling today and tomorrow morning, when services are also expected to be affected by the strike.Report: © Provided by The Independent Tube strike to cause travel misery in London 05:45 , Namita Singh The UK has one of the worst recoveries from Covid in the world when it comes to jobs, startling new research has found.Britain is on track to be the only country in the developed world with lower employment levels in 2023 than before the pandemic, according to top economists.The Institute for Employment Studies (IES) said the UK is almost unique in seeing employment levels lower than the pre-Covid period – with 600,000 more people ‘economically inactive’ than in 2019.Read more in this report: © Provided by The Independent UK set to be only nation with lower employment than before Covid 05:30 , Namita Singh Rishi Sunak will urge Nicola Sturgeon and other devolved leaders to be ‘pragmatic’ about the scale of economic crisis as he prepares to announce major public spending cuts.The prime minister will hold his first face-to-face talks with Scotland’s first minister on Thursday, with talks between the two leaders expected to focus on the cost-of-living crisis.The SNP leader is expected to stress the importance of avoiding ‘damaging austerity’ measures in the Sunak government’s autumn statement on 17 November.Adam Forrest reports: © Provided by The Independent Rishi Sunak will ask Nicola Sturgeon to be ‘pragmatic’ about spending cuts 05:15 , Namita Singh A report has claimed that Matt Hancock will be paid a fee of £400,000 to appear on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!The Conservative MP, who resigned as health secretary last year after he was caught kissing his aide Gina Coladangelo, has now entered the jungle for the hit ITV reality show.A report in The Sun quotes an inside source on the show as saying: ‘[Hancock’s] pay deal with I’m A Celebrity is around £400,000 which is one of the largest ever show fees to have been paid out.’Louis Chilton reports: © Provided by The Independent How much is Matt Hancock getting paid for I’m a Celebrity 2022? 05:00 , Namita Singh Matt Hancock’s highly anticipated arrival in the jungle was met with a mixture of shock, incredulity and uncontrollable laughter from his fellow I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! campmates.The former health secretary, 44, joined the cast of the ITV reality show yesterday, after facing much criticism over his decision from the public and fellow politicians.Shortly after arriving he took part in the Beastly Burrows Bushtucker Trial challenge alongside fellow late entry, comedian Seann Walsh – and was later selected again by the public to face a second trial today.Read the details here: © Provided by The Independent Matt Hancock’s jungle arrival met with shock, incredulity and laughter 04:45 , Namita Singh Matt Hancock should ‘do the honourable thing and resign’, councillors in his constituency say.The former health secretary has faced widespread condemnation for taking part in the reality TV show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! Critics say he cannot be serving his constituents while he is more than 10,000 miles away in Australia.Councillors in the biggest town in his constituency held a show of hands and voted by a majority to tell him to stand down.Jane Dalton has more: © Provided by The Independent Matt Hancock’s constituents call for him to do ‘honourable thing and resign’ 04:28 , Namita Singh Matt Hancock admitted in his first day on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! that he understood why people might be ‘angry’ at his decision to join the reality TV show, though he stuck by the defence that his appearance was acceptable as British politics was stable with Rishi Sunak as prime minister.Controversy followed the former health secretary into the jungle, as campmate Boy George was reduced to tears by Mr Hancock’s arrival, citing his mother’s serious illness during the pandemic.Viewers of the ITV show appeared to want to punish the MP for West Suffolk, voting for him to take part in one of the programme’s Bushtucker Trials; challenges which generally force a contender to do something disgusting or frightening to win food for their campmates.My colleague Liam James reports: © Provided by The Independent Matt Hancock says Sunak ‘great’, as I’m A Celebrity controversy continues in jungle 04:07 , Namita Singh Welcome to The Independent’s UK politics blog for Thursday, 10 November 2022, where we provide the latest from Westminster. 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