PIERS Morgan has blasted Matt Hancock for resigning over his affair and not over failures that saw Britain’s Covid toll rise.
The Health Secretary quit today amid mounting pressure from colleagues over images of him kissing and cuddling Gina Coladangelo in a breach of coronavirus restrictions.
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Taking to Twitter soon after the news broke, former Good Morning Britain host Piers, 56, berated the minister, writing: “Didn’t resign for his abject failures on PPE, testing & care homes that led to Britain having the worst covid death toll in Europe.
“Did resign for being caught snogging his mistress. Pretty much sums up Matt Hancock. As the Prime Minister said: ‘Totally f***ing hopeless.’”
Mr Hancock finally fell on his sword admitting he had “let down” the millions who had made painful personal sacrifices during the pandemic.
Support for the minister had been dwindling after it emerged he told his wife he was leaving her on Thursday shortly after he learned that 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 that 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.
He wrote: “I am writing to resign as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. We have worked so hard as a country to fight the pandemic.
“The last thing I would want is for my private life to distract attention from the single-minded focus that is leading us out of this crisis.
“I want to reiterate my apology for breaking the guidance, and apologise to my family and loved ones for putting them through this. I also need to be with my children at this time.
“We owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down as I have done by breaching the guidance.
“The NHS is the best gift a nation has ever given itself, and the dedication and courage of the NHS staff and the ceaseless work of the officials in the Department is something we should all be proud of.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was “sorry” to receive Hancock’s resignation.
CCTV images showed him passionately kissing his aide – with the dad-of-three shamelessly asking for “privacy on this personal matter” just hours later.
And 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.
