Matt Hancock ‘will need money to fund his new life’ with aide lover and ‘wants a comeback’ after quitting in disgrace

CHEATING Matt Hancock will need more money to fund his new life with his aide lover, according to a former minister.

The ex-Health Secretary hopes to make a political comeback after quitting in disgrace over breaking his own Covid rules by snogging married Gina Coladangelo in his department’s office.

The pair’s affair — exposed by Trending In The News last month — prompted Mr Hancock’s ­resignation and the end of his 15-year marriage.

CCTV images showed them in a steamy clinch at work, and the extramarital romance was exposed as being in breach of Covid rules.

He then called time on his marriage to Martha and is said to be ready for a new life with Gina, whom he met at Oxford University in the late 1990s.

Only two weeks after he quit as Health Secretary, love rat Mr Hancock is already planning a return to politics, The Mail on Sunday reports.

He has allegedly appealed to current and former ministers for advice on how to fight back after his resignation – despite some former Cabinet colleagues urging him to leave the Commons completely.

One ministerial friend said he would definitely not give up his West Suffolk seat, instead “proving himself to be a great backbench MP”.

But they also warned he will likely struggle to make ends meet on his MP’s salary of almost £82,000.

He will need to rely on outside jobs for extra cash – which could be difficult given his high-profile former position and the backlash he faced following the affair debacle.

The close pal said: “Given the notoriety which he has now achieved, it will be impossible for him to find new jobs without declaring them in the MPs’ Register (of Interests).

“That will drag the companies reluctantly into the limelight.”

And one former Cabinet Minister said that even if Mr Hancock remained an MP, he did not think “he will ever come back as a Minister”.

“There are too many other MPs, young Tory MPs, who will be coming up for ministerial jobs,” he added.

However, others disagree and think the 42-year-old is young enough to make a full ministerial comeback.

They highlighted a section in Boris Johnson’s letter accepting his resignation which said: “Your contribution to public service is far from over.”

‘MINISTER FOR HUGS’

Talk of his attempted return to politics comes as Trending In The News revealed Mr Hancock wanted to give his mistress aide a job three years ago.

A job hunt e-mail was circulated among senior mandarins in an effort to find a potential appointment for Gina in Whitehall.

The search came while dad-of-three Mr Hancock served as Culture Secretary for the first seven months of 2018.

The pair met as young adults at university before she later became involved his Tory leadership bid in 2019.

She was then given an unpaid adviser role at the Health Department in March last year before being made a £15,000-a-year non-executive director at the department.

Mum-of-three Gina’s husband is Oliver Tress, founder of fashion and lifestyle firm Oliver Bonas.

Mr Hancock has kept a low profile since his lockdown-defying affair was exposed.

But he was snapped at a vaccination centre, where he is believed to have received his second Covid jab, on Friday.

His mistress was seen in West London, not wearing her wedding band.

Mr Hancock also last week faced fresh humiliation after he reportedly asked people to “call me the Minister for Hugs” just two months before the bombshell revelation.