MATT Hancock has resigned as Health Secretary the day after video footage emerged of him kissing an aide in his ministerial office in a breach of coronavirus restrictions.

Images and video showed Mr Hancock in an embrace with aide Gina Coladangelo last month, and the Health Secretary was facing increasing pressure to quit over the breaking of social-distancing rules.

The Northern Echo:

Picture: Screengrab taking from the video posted by Matt Hancock on his twitter feed where he resigned as Health Secretary.

Mr Hancock wrote to Boris Johnson on Saturday and said: “The last thing I would want is for my private life to distract attention from the single-minded focus that is leading us out of this crisis.

“I want to reiterate my apology for breaking the guidance, and apologise to my family and loved ones for putting them through this. I also need to be with my children at this time.”

He said: “We owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down as I have done by breaching the guidance.”

He paid tribute to NHS staff and Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) officials and admitted that “we didn’t get every decision right”.

But he said: “I know people understand how hard it is to deal with the unknown, making the difficult trade-off between freedom, prosperity and health that we have faced.”

The Northern Echo:

In a video posted on Twitter, Mr Hancock said: “I understand the enormous sacrifices that everybody in this country has made, you have made. And those of us who make these rules have got to stick by them and that’s why I’ve got to resign.”

In response to Mr Hancock’s letter, the Prime Minister wrote: “You should leave office very proud of what you have achieved – not just in tackling the pandemic, but even before Covid-19 struck us.”

And he said: “Above all, it has been your task to deal with a challenge greater than that faced by any of your predecessors, and in fighting Covid you have risen to that challenge – with the abundant energy, intelligence, and determination that are your hallmark.”

Mr Johnson had refused to sack Mr Hancock, with his spokesman saying the PM considered the matter closed after receiving the West Suffolk MP’s apology on Friday.

Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison has since tweeted: “A tough decision, but the right one. Matt has worked his socks off as Health Secretary, and I’ll always be especially grateful to him for the role he played in helping us beat Covid. Let’s come together to finish the job.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also tweeted in support of the decision.

He said: “Matt Hancock is right to resign. But Boris Johnson should have sacked him.”

Broadcaster Piers Morgan has also had his say:

Conservative MP Duncan Baker was the first on Saturday to confirm he was calling for him to go, while former Cabinet minister Esther McVey said she would resign if in the same position.

Mr Hancock’s breach of the rules has been likened to that of former chief aide to the Prime Minister Dominic Cummings, who infamously drove to Barnard Castle in County Durham during a national lockdown.