MATT Hancock is facing an investigation after using his personal email to negotiate multi-million pound PPE contracts during the pandemic, it has been revealed.
Since March 2020, the former Health Secretary has been using a private email account to conduct government business.
Follow our Matt Hancock live blog for all the latest updates on his affair
In documents obtained by Trending In The Newsday Times, it states that Mr Hancock routinely used his own email for PPE contracts and setting up the £37 billion Test and Trace programme.
The revelation of the secret account appears in minutes of a December meeting between two senior officials at the Department of Health and Social Care.
David Williams, the department’s second permanent secretary, warned about Mr Hancock’s conduct suggesting that he “only” deals with his office “via Gmail account”.
He went on to say that the former Health Secretary does not have an official email.
Williams went on to say that officials could not freely access the documents claiming that the “threshold for requesting this personal account would need to be substantial”.
He added that junior health minister Lord Bethell also used his personal account stating: “routinely uses his personal inbox and the majority of [approvals for contracts] would have been initiated from this inbox”.
Cabinet Office guidance states that it is expected that government business “should be recorded on a government record system”.
The meeting in question was about a Good Law Project legal challenge over the Health Secretary’s decision to award a contract to the government adviser Sir John Bell.
The contract was worth £75 million.
Since the meeting, The Times claimed that Mr Hancock had been given an email account.
However, two sources from Whitehall say that he preferred to use his personal Gmail account.
It comes as…
- Matt Hancock announced he was resigning almost 48 hours after his affair with his aide was exposed
- The Health Secretary told his wife he was leaving her as the affair was revealed
- Gina Coladangelo has left her position on the Department of Health board after the affair with Hancock
- Read Matt Hancock’s resignation letter in full
- Boris Johnson told Hancock ‘you should be proud of what you’ve achieved’ as he accepted his resignation
- Sajid Javid will be the new Health Secretary
Today Mr Hancock resigned after humiliating footage of his romantic clinch with a senior aide was published by Trending In The News.
The Health Secretary quit amid mounting pressure from Tory colleagues over images of him kissing and cuddling Gina Coladangelo in a breach of coronavirus restrictions.
Former Chancellor and Home Secretary Sajid Javid will replace Matt Hancock as Health Secretary, Downing Street announced just two hours after Hancock quit.
Support for the minister had been dwindling after it emerged he told his wife he was leaving her on Thursday shortly after he learned his affair with married Coladangelo was about to be exposed.
Martha Hancock had no idea her husband was having an affair until he broke the news and announced their marriage was over, reports the Times.
Observers were quick to point out that he does not specifically mention his wife in his resignation letter to the Prime Minister.
According to a report, friends of the health secretary say his relationship with Gina is “recent but serious”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson later said he was “sorry” to receive Hancock’s resignation.
Labour leader Keir Starmer then tweeted: “Matt Hancock is right to resign. But Boris Johnson should have sacked him.”
CCTV images showed Hancock passionately kissing his aide – with the dad-of-three later shamelessly asking for “privacy on this personal matter”.
But he admitted he had “broken social distancing rules” after lecturing the country on coronavirus regulations throughout the pandemic.
He was recorded kissing her on May 6 – while hugging was still banned.
Just ten days later, the hypocritical politician warned the country we mustn’t cuddle our loved ones.
