Is Matt Hancock still an MP?
MATT Hancock resigned as Health Secretary on June 26, 2021, in the wake of revelations about an affair with his aide Gina Coladangelo. While his position in the Tory Cabinet may be over for now, his political career is not yet over. While Matt Hancock resigned as Health Secretary on June 26, 2021, he remains as the MP for West Suffolk. He became an MP in May 2010 with a majority of 23,194 replacing Richard Strong in the position. Hancock got his first junior minister role in October 2013 as Minister of State for Skills and Enterprise. He was then appointed to the position of Minister of State for Business and Enterprise in July the following year. In the same month he also became Minister for Energy. Hancock then moved to the role of Minister for the Cabinet Office Paymaster General in May 2015. He held that post until July 2016 when he was made the Digital and Culture Minister. Hancock was then promoted to Secretary of State of the same department in January 2018. He only held the post until July that year when he became Health Secretary. While Hancock has resigned as Health Secretary following the revelations about an affair with Gina Coladangelo he will remain as the MP for West Suffolk, moving to the back benches in the House of Commons. In his resignation letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson he wrote: I will of course continue to support you in whatever way I can from the back benches.  Johnson had refused to sack Hancock, with a Downing Street spokesman saying the Prime Minister considered the matter "closed," however a number of rank and file Tory MPs called for Hancock to step down. Hancock's letter of resignation said it has been the "honour of my life" to serve as Health Secretary. His full letter of resignation said: "Dear Prime Minister,  "I am writing to resign as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. We have worked so hard as a country to fight the pandemic. "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. "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. "The NHS is the best gift a nation has ever given itself, and the dedication and courage of the NHS staff and the ceaseless work of the officials in the Department is something we should all be proud of. "We didn't get every decision right but I know people understand how hard it is to deal with the unknown, making the difficult trade-offs between freedom, prosperity and health that we have faced. "I am so proud that Britain avoided the catastrophe of an overwhelmed NHS and that through foresight and brilliant science we have led the world in the vaccination effort, so we stand on the brink of a return to normality. "The reforms we have started in the health system will ensure it continues to provide even better care for people in years to come. "We are building a better NHS which makes smarter use of technology and data, forming a new UK Health Security Agency, delivering positive changes to mental health care and will fix the problems in social care once and for all. "Many times I stood at the podium in Downing Street and thanked the team - my own team, the NHS, the volunteers, the Armed Services, our pharmacists, GPs, the pharmaceutical industry and the whole British publish who have made such sacrifices to help others. "Those thanks are heartfelt and sincere so I must resign. Most read in News GOLDEN FAIL Brewdog prize winner's can is only 'gold-plated' and worth fraction of 15k horror smash Man fighting for life after motorbike smashes into a wall near Selkirk MATT-ER OF FACT Shop owners tell customers 'don't wear a mask - Matt doesn't' after affair HORROR ASSAULT Man attacked by gang of thugs near Scots park in brutal ambush scorcher Scots bask in summer sunshine with temperatures to soar to 23C this week ROAD CRASH Injured man cut from wrecked car after horror smash on Scots road  "It has been the honour of my life to serve in your Cabinet as Secretary of State and I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved. "I will of course continue to support you in whatever way I can from the back benches, and I would like to thank you for your unwavering support, your leadership and your optimism, particularly as we worked together to overcome this awful disease. "Matt Hancock".