British prime minister Boris Johnson on Friday (25) stood by his beleaguered health secretary Matt Hancock after he admitted to breaking Covid rules during a newly-revealed affair with a close aide.
"The prime minister has accepted the health secretary's apology and considers the matter closed," Johnson's spokesman told reporters, adding the Conservative leader retained full confidence in him.
While opposition parties demanded Hancock's resignation, accusing the government of hypocrisy over breaches of lockdown rules which have seen many members of the public slapped with fines, Hancock conceded he had let the public down but insisted he was staying on, after a media report published a security camera still obtained from a whistleblower showing him getting close with an aide in his office on May 6.
"I accept that I breached the social distancing guidance in these circumstances. I have let people down and am very sorry," Hancock said in a statement responding to the Sun photograph.
"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," he said.
Answering the demand of Labour party that the government needed to answer questions about the undisclosed appointment of the aide and former lobbyist Gina Coladangelo to Hancock's top advisory team, Johnson’s spokesman said that “the appointment followed all the correct procedures”.
Last week, Hancock rejected criticism of his handling of the Covid pandemic after private WhatsApp exchanges emerged in which Johnson reported to have described him as "hopeless".
Earlier, Hancock has also reportedly faced allegations that he lied to Johnson and awarded a contract to an unqualified friend. He had also faced questions about his ownership of shares in a family company that won a Covid-related contract from his ministry last year.
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