GINA Coladangelo’s dad has defended his daughter as she was seen going into hiding after her affair with Matt Hancock was exposed.
The married mum-of-three, 43, was caught on CCTV in a steamy clinch with the Health Secretary on May 6, which was revealed by Trending In The News.
Follow our Matt Hancock live blog for all the latest updates on his affair
Gina’s dad, Rino Coladangelo, 70, is a millionaire businessman who is the boss of the international pharmaceutical company Rephine.
Approached by the MailOnline, he declined to comment except to say: “My daughter is a wonderful woman.”
The Health Secretary’s mistress was spotted loading bags into her car hours after learning her affair would be exposed.
Gina Coladangelo, 43, then drove off in her £70,000 Audi Q7 from outside her £3.6million family home.
She left without her millionaire husband and Oliver Bonas founder Oliver Tress, 54.
And she did not return to the property in South West London yesterday.
Her dad Rino Coladangelo, 70, has spoken with her.
Stunned neighbours described Gina as “gorgeous,” with one grimacing: “Why Matt Hancock?”
Coladangelo is also a director and major shareholder at lobbying firm Luther Pendragon, which offers clients a “deep understanding of the mechanics of government”.
Matt Hancock secretly appointed Coladangelo to the Department of Health and Social Care as an unpaid adviser on a six-month contract in March last year.
In September, Hancock appointed Coladangelo as a non-executive director at DHSC, meaning that she is a member of the board that scrutinises the department.
It sparked claims of a ‘chumocracy’ in November, when it also emerged she had accompanied Hancock to confidential meetings with civil servants and visited No10.
There was no public record of the appointment, which was set to see her earn at least £15,000 of taxpayers’ money, potentially rising by a further £5,000.
The pair first met at Oxford University in the early 2000s but Mr Hancock went on to wed Martha Hoyer Millar in 2006.
Mr Hancock apologised for his actions, saying: “I accept that I breached the social distancing guidance in these circumstances.
“I have let people down and am very sorry.
“I remain focused on working to get the country out of this pandemic, and would be grateful for privacy for my family on this personal matter.”
Boris Johnson is under increasing pressure from his own MPs to sack Hancock, following Trending In The News’s revelations.
Conservative MPs have bombarded party whips with complaints over the health secretary’s “hypocritical” behaviour and said the PM should “pull the plug”.
