The married politician was filmed kissing and hugging his adviser, with whom the British newspaper The Sun accused him of having an affair. The newspaper reported that the pictures had been in place since May 6, two weeks before cross-house communication was allowed in the UK.
“I have come to see the Prime Minister resign as Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Security … they must be adhered to by us who make these rules, and that is why I must resign,” Hancock said in a video posted on his Twitter page.
“I am very proud of what we have done to protect the NHS at the peak, and I look forward to providing that vaccine release – the fastest in the world – and backing the government and the Prime Minister,” he said.
In a letter to Boris Johnson, he said, “I would like to reiterate my apologies for violating the guidelines and apologize to my family and loved ones.”
Hancock has been under pressure for months over dealing with a corona virus infection in the UK, but has stuck to his role.
To date, more than 128,000 people have died from Govt-19 in the United Kingdom – the highest death toll in Europe. One of the biggest early failures of the UK response to the Covid-19 was the development of the test and trail system. The British government has also been criticized for allowing many facilities to neglect maintenance homes, without adequate PPE, testing and clear guidelines.
Cummings gave a poor account of the government’s response to the corona virus during a seven – hour hearing in Westminster last month, accusing Downing Street and Hancock of misleading the British people.
The split man, who stepped down in the midst of England’s deadly second channel last November, doubled his criticism of Hancock last week.
“Like the Prime Minister himself, Hancock’s performance in testing, procurement and BPE [personal protective equipment], Cummings said in a tweet that care homes are ‘completely F ** king hopeless’, sharing a screen shot with Johnson that appears to be a WhatsApp exchange just days after the UK went into its first full lockout amid a vicious explosion.
On March 27, 2020, the same day that Johnson and Hancock tested positive for the corona virus, Cummings texted the Prime Minister that the pace of the corona virus test was too slow and that the health minister had misled the government about his ability. Speed it up.
According to a screen shot shared on Cummings’ blog and Twitter, Johnson responded: “Absolutely F ** King is hopeless.”
A month later, in another text message, on April 27, Johnson said the BPE shortage was “a disaster” as National Health Service staff walked out of important masks and gowns, and recommended that Hancock stop buying equipment altogether.
“Wtf do we?” Johnson wrote.
The chaos around Hancock had already reached a point where it caught the Queen’s attention.
The Queen noted the Health Secretary’s woes on Wednesday in her first visit with the Prime Minister in 15 months, telling Johnson to “speak to your Secretary of State, the poor man.”
It is unclear whether this comment was a reaction to the heavy burden on managing the country’s corona virus response, or acknowledging the criticism received by Hancock from Cummings.
“I’m talking to your health secretary, poor thing. He came to the Privy Council. He’s full …”
“Beans,” Johnson asked.
Before the video ended abruptly, the Queen said, “He thinks things are getting better,” to which Johnson replied: “Well, er, they, we just …”.
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