Snap polling reveals Brits think Hancock should quit over kiss with senior aide

26 June 2021, 10:30 | Updated: 26 June 2021, 10:41

Brits think Matt Hancock has no option but to resign as Health Secretary in the wake of pictures which showed him kissing a senior aide in his Whitehall Office.

One snap poll by Savanta ComRes, released hours after photographs of the pair kissing in Mr Hancock's ministerial office surfaced, found 58% of UK adults thought that Mr Hancock should resign, compared to 25% who thought he should not.

A similar poll by YouGov of 6,549 Brits on the day the pictures emerged revealed 49% of people think he should quit, 25% think he should remain in his role - with 27 per cent saying they are unsure.

Peter Kellner, political commentator and former president of YouGov, told LBC: “The next 48/72 hours will be crucial.

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“If Matt Hancock is still in place by lets say next Tuesday morning, he’s probably ok until at least the next reshuffle.

“Now, all the things that Matt Hancock has done wrong, but remember Boris Johnson and Jennifer Arcuri.

“Think about Dominic Cummings breaking the rules when he went to Barnard Castle.

“They did not leave immediately. I think it is still in the balance.

“I wouldn’t put money on Matt Hancock surviving, but I wouldn’t put that much money on him going in the next 48 hours either.”

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Pressure is mounting on Mr Hancock to resign after being caught kissing close aide Gina Coladangelo in breach of coronavirus restrictions.

There are also growing calls for Boris Johnson to call in the Government's ethics adviser over the incident.

A video of Mr Hancock in an embrace with her was published on Friday night, after stills from the CCTV clip earlier in the day prompted Labour to deem his position "hopelessly untenable".

Lawyers described how Mr Hancock may have broken the law regarding coronavirus restrictions, although he admitted only to breaching "guidance."

There were also questions about Mrs Coladangelo's appointment to her role in the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in the first place.