Should Matt Hancock resign? Echo readers have their say on Health Secretary's job

The minister this week issued an apology for breaching “the social distancing guidance” and said he was “very sorry” following the publication of pictures in The Sun newspaper on Friday, June 25, which showed him kissing Gina Coladangelo.

A video of Mr Hancock in an embrace with Mrs Coladangelo, an aide at the Department for Health and Social Care, was also published on Friday.

In a statement that same day, Mr Hancock said: “I accept that I breached the social distancing guidance in these circumstances, I have let people down and am very sorry.

“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.”

Following his statement, a Downing Street spokesman said Prime Minister Boris Johnson accepted the apology and “considers the matter closed”.

Calls for Mr Hancock to go have continued, with hundreds of Echo readers sharing their opinions on our Facebook page.

Here are some of your comments:

Gill Stephenson Button: “Yes he should resign. Lead by example.”

Vicki Milburn: “No-one is going to listen to anything he says now. He has not set an example of social distancing.”

Angela Graham: “Normally I would say yes but the vaccination programme is going well at the moment and as they say, better the devil you know.”

Carol Anne Downey: “He was telling us all not to see parents/grandparents, not to mix with people we did not live with.”

Emma Launder: “Absolutely. People have sacrificed so much, lost so much because of what he has been asking the country to do. People have died alone.”

Karen Johnson: “No. His private life should be just that, private.”

Barbara Smith: “I wonder how many of the people complaining about him, have done something similar or even worse!”

Trevor Ord: “For him to refuse to resign shows the complete contempt that he holds for the electorate.”

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