Matt Hancock set to give evidence at Covid inquiry

Former health secretary Matt Hancock is due to answer questions at the UK Covid inquiry on Thursday. The MP for West Suffolk has faced criticism of his decision-making during the pandemic. The BBC looks at some of the controversies surrounding Mr Hancock.

Matt Hancock held the West Suffolk constituency for the Conservatives in 2010 with a majority of 13,050.

He defended the seat in each following general election with a majority of 23,194 in 2019.

On 7 December 2022 he announced he would be standing down at the next election.

Mr Hancock said he had "discovered a whole new world of possibilities which I am excited to explore".

His announcement came as some local party members said he was "not fit to represent" them.

In a letter, the West Suffolk Conservative Association president urged the Chief Whip not to re-admit Mr Hancock as a Tory MP.

He is currently an independent MP after he was suspended from the Conservatives for the joining a reality TV show.

Mr Hancock resigned as health secretary in June 2021 after he breached social distancing guidance by kissing a colleague.

In a resignation letter to the prime minister, he said the government "owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down".

In a video posted on X (formerly Twitter), Mr Hancock said: "I have been to see the prime minister to resign as secretary of state for health and social care.

"I understand the enormous sacrifices that everybody in this country has made, that you have made, and those of us who make these rules have got to stick by them and that's why I have got to resign."

Matt Hancock took part in the ITV reality show I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in 2022.

He finished third, behind former footballer Jill Scott and actor Owen Warner.

Mr Hancock's participation in the series was criticised by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who said Hancock should not be away from his constituents while Parliament was sitting.

The 45-year-old was also criticised by Conservative colleagues and opposition MPs, as well as his local Conservative association, who said they were "disappointed" and accused Hancock of a "serious error of judgement".

Mr Hancock also featured in the Channel 4 programme Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins earlier this year, for which he was paid £45,000.

He came joint second and failed to pass the gruelling training regime.

The show's chief instructor Mark "Billy" Billingham said Mr Hancock became "quite annoying" while taking part.

Matt Hancock worked alongside journalist Isabel Oakeshott on his Pandemic Diaries in December 2022.

However he accused Ms Oakeshott of a "massive betrayal and breach of trust" after she released 100,000 WhatsApp messages linked to Mr Hancock's time as health secretary at the height of the pandemic to The Telegraph newspaper.

Ms Oakeshott defended releasing the messages, saying it was in the "overwhelming national interest".

Mr Hancock said the messages were released in a "biased account to suit an anti-lockdown agenda".

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