The Conservative MP for West Suffolk and former health secretary Matt Hancock entered the I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here Jungle and it’s safe to say it has caused an uproar among the British public. ITV has been hit with 1,100 complaints from Ofcom regarding Hancock’s appearance in the jungle.
Hancock has insisted he wants to show his “human side” behind the political persona. Yet many would say Hancock already showed his true colours during his role as health secretary during the pandemic.
Hancock wants “forgiveness”
Fellow jungle campmates grilled Hancock regarding the breach of his own social distancing rules back in June 2021 with colleague Gina Coladangelo, which resulted in his forced resignation as health secretary. Although admitting it was a mistake, Hancock defended himself stating he “fell in love with somebody” and claimed he did not break any laws.
Journalist Charlene White spoke for a lot of the British public when she hit back voiced that “sorry for a lot of families does not really cut it”.
In a further attempt to defend his actions regarding the protection of care homes and PPE provision during the pandemic, Hancock claimed that there were reasons why these decisions were taken and the problems were “caused by the virus not the people who were trying to solve the problem”.
He stated that all he is looking for is “a bit of forgiveness”. However, it is clear many families are far from ready to forgive Hancock.
Calls for Hancock to be removed from the jungle
A petition has been set up by the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice prior to the start of the series demanding ITV to remove Hancock from the jungle. They have stated in their petition that:
“Families were ripped apart by Matt Hancock’s actions and turning on the TV to see him being paraded around as a joke is sickening.
“…If he had any respect for families who lost loved ones to Covid-19, he would be sharing his private emails with the Covid inquiry, not eating bugs on TV.”
The petition reaching over 45,000 signatures is enough to highlight the sheer discomfort Hancock’s presence in the jungle has caused.
On Tuesday, 38 Degrees flew a large banner over the I’m A Celeb jungle with a message from the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice reading, ‘Covid bereaved say Get Out of Here!’.
38 Degrees have dedicated the banner to the families bereaved by Covid-19, explaining that:
“We couldn’t stand by while the guy who set the rules, then resigned for breaking them, parades around TV as a ‘celebrity.’”
Hancock is not a celebrity, he’s an MP
Over the first week, the British public relentlessly voted for Hancock for the Bushtucker trials, but is this enough? Should we even be voting for him and keeping him on our televisions every night? Is this giving him the attention and public redemption he hoped to gain when deciding to enter the jungle?
Hancock is not a celebrity. He is an MP who has left behind his constituency to earn 400k in the jungle, whilst still unfairly keeping his job. Amidst the cost-of-living crisis and political instability, this feels like a kick in the teeth for the British public, many of whom are still suffering consequences from the decisions the former health secretary oversaw back in 2020. This feels all too soon and ITV’s attempt to get some ‘good telly’ is undoubtedly an insensitive decision that disregards the families still bereaved by Covid-19.
If you wish to sign the petition for Matt Hancock’s removal from the jungle, follow this link.
