Matt Hancock is letting down voters by joining I’m A Celeb – I’m disappointed in him, says Rishi Sunak

RISHI Sunak hit out at Matt ­Hancock last night for swanning off to join I’m A Celebrity.

The PM said he risked losing constituents’ trust by leaving them for the show, which started in Oz last night.

Rex

The PM said Matt Hancock risked losing constituents’ trust by leaving them to appear on I’m A Celebrity[/caption]

Stefan Rousseau/PA

Mr Sunak said: ‘I was very disappointed’[/caption]

Mr Sunak said: “I was very disappointed.” MPs should be “working hard for their constituents”, he added.

Mr Sunak, speaking on his way to the COP27 summit in Egypt, also said: “I think his constituents have expressed their view.”

Hancock had the Tory whip removed after The Sun revealed he was to be a surprise contestant, with a fee of up to £400,000.

Mr Sunak, who did not offer the former Health Secretary a job in his new government, said: “I think politics is a noble profession, at its best — it can and should be.

“But it’s incumbent on politicians to earn people’s respect and trust.

“They do that by working hard for their constituents, as the vast majority of MPs do. That is why I was very disappointed with Matt’s decision.

“The vast majority of MPs are really hard-working — they got into it because they want to make a difference for their communities.

“Most MPs spend their time street by street, constituent by constituent, trying to make a difference, that’s what my colleagues do.

“That’s really special and why I was disappointed with what Matt did.”

He refused to say if he had spoken to the West Suffolk MP about appearing on the show.

The PM was also tight-lipped on whether he would be voting for him to eat creepy-crawlies in the trials, claiming he “genuinely won’t have time” to watch.

Hancock is due to enter the camp once his fellow contestants have settled in.

A spokesperson for Matt Hancock’s said: “The second reading of Matt’s Dyslexia Screening and Teacher Training Bill is just days after I’m A Celeb finishes. Matt doesn’t expect to serve in government again so this is an amazing opportunity for him to raise the profile of his dyslexia campaign and to talk about an issue he really cares about in front of millions of people.”

“Matt is still working on constituency matters and producers have agreed that Matt can communicate with his team throughout the show if there’s an urgent constituency matter.

“Matt will be making a donation to St Nicholas Hospice in Suffolk, and causes supporting dyslexia, off the back of his appearance. He will, of course, declare the amount he receives from the show to Parliament to ensure complete transparency, as normal.”

He was forced to resign as Health Secretary last year after The Sun revealed his affair with co-worker Gina Coladangelo.

Boy George is among the stars on the ITV show, which is back in Australia for the first time since the Covid pandemic.