Rishi Sunak appeared to suggest Matt Hancock’s foray into reality TV is not “noble” because the former UK health secretary is failing to prioritise his “constituents and our country”.
The British prime minister said he was “disappointed” when Mr Hancock signed up for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! because politicians should be focused on tackling the issues facing the country.
Mr Sunak was asked if Mr Hancock’s appearance on the ITV show, where he has to participate in disgusting challenges, denigrates politics.
“I think politics at its best can and should be actually quite noble,” he told reporters travelling with him to the G20 summit in Bali.
“You have to earn people’s respect, right. It is not given just because you are a politician…
“It is incumbent on all members of parliament to do the things that earn people’s respect and that’s serving your constituents really well, making a difference to them in surgeries.
“It is how you conduct yourself – everyone is going to do it in a slightly different way – but I think it’s important that we have our constituents and our country and the forefront of what we do when we go around our day-to-day lives.”
There are 200k grieving families in Britain today who lost a loved one to Covid.
Matt Hancock is the health secretary who presided over all those deaths.
Yet this is how he sees fit to conduct himself now - for a £400,000 fee from ITV.
It is so insensitive, disgusting & wrong. pic.twitter.com/Ub465Eg9it— Rachel Clarke (@doctor_oxford) November 12, 2022
It was put to Mr Sunak that his former Cabinet colleague looks like he is asking the public to forgive him during his trials in the jungle.
Asked if Mr Hancock deserves their sympathy, Mr Sunak said: “I think the British public will make up their own mind.
“I was disappointed when he went on the show, as I said, and I thought the chief whip was right to suspend the whip from him.”
MPs should be focused on “debating and trying to solve” the many challenges the UK faces, Mr Sunak added.
Asked if he has tuned into the show, watched by millions each night, he said: “Sadly not, no, I’ve been busy. I’ve barely seen my children, or anyone else for that matter, over the last couple of weeks.”
