Boris Johnson accepts Hancock’s apology for ‘kissing aide’ and ‘considers matter closed’

George McKay

Hands up who’s surprised?

In news that has shocked perhaps nobody at all, No. 10 have said that PM Boris Johnson has accepted health secretary Matt Hancock’s apology for breaking lockdown rules, and considers the matter closed.

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister said:

You’ve seen the Health Secretary’s statement, so I would point you to that

I don’t really have anything further to add.

The health secretary set out that he accepted he had breached the social distancing guidelines and he has apologised for that.

The prime minister has accepted the Health Secretary’s apology and considers the matter closed.

When asked whether he had full confidence in Matt Hancock, the spokesperson said yes.

However, Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford said there are legitimate public interest questions which need to be answered regarding the images appearing to show Hancock kissing his aide.

Drakeford said:

I think there is a legitimate distinction to be drawn between what people do in their private lives and what they do in their public lives.

I’m not trying to make points about what people do as entirely private matters, but in the case of Mr Hancock it does seem to me that there are some issues that are of genuine public interest.

I do think there are questions that need to be answered about whether those rules were broken, the social distancing rules.

Mr Hancock himself was very quick to condemn a senior academic from Imperial College when he was found breaching those rules, so I think there are questions, legitimate public interest questions, to answer there.

I think there are legitimate public interest questions to be answered about how individuals are appointed if they turn out to be in a different sort of relationship with the minister who was responsible for their appointment.

Certainly here in Wales, I always expect the whole of our ministerial team to observe the rules that we expect other people to observe.

You can’t make laws for other people and then not be willing to abide by them yourself.

England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty has declined to comment on Matt Hancock’s actions.