Matt Hancock affair

[TheoMeo]

AIBU to be utterly peed off that another one of our Ministers - rather than devoting his time and effort to getting the country out of this mess - is busy carrying on with an aide (which he appointed at great expense to the tax payer) - aaaaaaag.
www.thesun.co.uk/

I think people can be too eager to dismiss the corruption being reported as a 'dead cat'.

@Blossomtoes Again, can you provide a source that explains it is CCTV? You don’t put CCTV in sensitive spaces because it presents a clear security vulnerability. Anywhere there are sensitive matters (national security includes economic and financial discussions), you don’t have surveillance - and regular sweeps for bugs. They missed this, and that is the real story.

Deflecting into emotional stories about the affair is a mistake, and a costly one.

@Wheretobuy

It also bothers me a lot that there are pictures of his poor wife in the papers. She has every right to digest her grief in private. I see the aide's husband is afforded that courtesy at least, no pictures of him in sunglasses looking like he's going through hell.

Did she have her ring on this morning? I am fully convinced that her walk this morning was a planned event. Why would you think otherwise?

She will have had forewarning, as would he. I wonder if he has already tried to block the story legally, hence the delay in breaking it. Not sure if camera stills were in his office or the corridor outside.

Must be something in the water at Parliament. MPs current or ex seem to like their aides. Weeks after his divorce, George Osborne went public with his new relationship. He's now engaged to be married and expecting a baby with his former aide.

Yuck, what an idiot. I pray his wife leaves him.

The only reason he isn't sacked yet is that a case is being built against him gradually. Boris can't sack him for this alone as no doubt there is some sort of similar thing against him, but if a full case is built then MH will go down as the Tory scapegoat when the Covid investigation is completed. Boris will get away with it as usual.

Can't believe I spend my whole life being stressed about my low paid job, Covid rules etc and those in power do whatever they want. I am a mug.

@thewiseoneincognito There’s far more to this than simply him bonking his assistant which is the tabloids wet dream. It's not even that, it's the fact he gave an old mate a ludicrously highly paid fake job!! Paid for by you, me and everyone who pays taxes. "straining every sinew" indeed.

What has happened to the concepts of accountability and duty?

@Gladimnotcampinginthisweather

'Gove and Vine are swingers according to Mumsnet' 🤮🤢🤮

Michael Gove's a swinger? Crikey, who knew he had it in him eh?

Surely he was just closely inspecting her tonsils for any sign of COVID?

If Hancock goes, who takes over?

@sergeilavrov

The biggest issue here is not the affair. It’s the fact that a bug in a ministerial office wasn’t picked up. That’s a serious national security issue, and the press about the affair merely serves to distract from dealing with that.

Thata's the first thing I thought too.

I am less worried about breaking social distancing, they were woking together every day, essentially living together in that office, and probably already having an affair for some time, maybe even years. I quite honestly don't think anyone in a relationship has followed social distancing rules, why on earth should they? They would be in a bubble, whether living together or not. Setting aside the fact he is having an affair, I don't think he has done anything wrong.

I feel sorry for his wife

And the image of the ‘clinch’ is scuzzy isn’t it

Find it all so embarrassing

I think it's a realistic possibility that Hancock hasn't broken the covid laws, but then Neil Ferguson never did either. It was just his partner, as the rules at the time only criminalised leaving the house rather than having someone at yours. And his position was clearly untenable despite not having acted illegally

His position was clearly tenable as was back on sage not long after leaving it.

Oh dear! Who on earth would be a politican when you have to be a paragon of virtue every day of your life!

@Keyring

Oh dear! Who on earth would be a politican when you have to be a paragon of virtue every day of your life!

Matt's auntie has entered the chat

I am not worried about the affair as such, but what petty rules were the rest of us adhering to at the time?

@Lemons1571

Johnson and Cummings really want him out don’t they. He’s the fall guy for everything. Boris will also retire imminently as he will make far more money by public speaking than he would as PM, with none of the responsibilities of an irritating pandemic. DC will predictably slide back in next to Rishi Sunak. And no one would ever guess this was the cunning plan all along

Yes it's all been very quiet, worryingly so, from Rishi silent but deadly Sunak recently.

Just what the country doesn't need. The man whose brainless stamp duty holiday lost us billions of tax revenue and further inflated the house price bubble.

@Andante57

I can't believe two women fancied him

Two woman fancied John Prescott and Robin Cook. It takes all sorts.

Oddly, I can kind of get the Robin Cook thing. He had a very fine mind, was witty and charming in person and nowhere near as bad looking IRL as he looked on tv and in photos. He had that gift of listening to you as though you were the most interesting and attractive person in the room (of course, I may have been: the bar was set pretty low at Labour party events in the '80s )

On seeing him IRL, my friend commented "That bloke looks like Robin Cook's better looking brother".

[quote whoopsnomore]**@thewiseoneincognito* There’s far more to this than simply him bonking his assistant which is the tabloids wet dream.* It's not even that, it's the fact he gave an old mate a ludicrously highly paid fake job!! Paid for by you, me and everyone who pays taxes. "straining every sinew" indeed.

What has happened to the concepts of accountability and duty?[/quote]
I fully agree it wreaks of corruption but that’s not the issue, someone has ran this story with an intent and I don't believe it’s just for sensationalist journalistic purposes.

@Keyring

Oh dear! Who on earth would be a politican when you have to be a paragon of virtue every day of your life!

If you think not shagging a long standing friend who you gave a job to whilst being responsible for the social distancing guidelines you had to ignore to engage in said shagging is being a paragon of virtue you have REALLY low standards.

@anotherday235 Can't believe I spend my whole life being stressed about my low paid job, Covid rules etc and those in power do whatever they want. I am a mug.

That’s how I feel. Here’s me worrying myself sick when I make a mistake at work which has no impact on anyone or I do something a day late….

@Witchesbelazy

Dominic Cummings is sat sipping his tea smugly this morning

Yep I reckon he’s behind it too

Twitter is interesting on speculating what this story is covering up.

I have to admit that I'd be really disappointed is THIS is the nail in his political coffin, instead of the result of being another completely useless member of the Tory cabinet.

Boris "Family Values" Johnson must be feeling particularly smug right about now...

I think the question should be 'why have the Sun been given this footage'? Is there a bigger story that's being hushed up?

"I am less worried about breaking social distancing, they were woking together every day, essentially living together in that office, and probably already having an affair for some time, maybe even years. I quite honestly don't think anyone in a relationship has followed social distancing rules, why on earth should they? They would be in a bubble, whether living together or not. Setting aside the fact he is having an affair, I don't think he has done anything wrong."

GC was only contracted for 15-20 days work a year - why would she "essentially living together in that office"?