and secondly, there are at the very least questions over the process that led to this lady being appointed to the board of the department of health and even if those processes were in fact fully satisfied, i would stand back and ask whether it was a wise decision anyway. ask whether it was a wise decision an a . ~ . ask whether it was a wise decision an a , ~ ., , ., ask whether it was a wise decision an a. ., anyway. what should happen to matt hancock? i m anyway. what should happen to matt hancock? i m sorry, anyway. what should happen to matt hancock? i m sorry, i anyway. what should happen to matt hancock? i m sorry, i didn t- anyway. what should happen to matt hancock? i m sorry, i didn t hear- hancock? i m sorry, i didn t hear the question- hancock? i m sorry, i didn t hear the question. what hancock? i m sorry, i didn t hear the question. what should - hancock? i m sorry, i didn t hear. the question. what should happen hancock? i m sorry, i didn t hear- the question. wh
our political correspondent, jonathan blake, has more. he has been at the forefront of the government s response to the pandemic, urging people to follow the rules. keep doing your bit. remember the basics hands, face, space and fresh air. ..but matt hancock is now under intense political pressure for going against his government s guidance. yesterday s revelations in the sun that he was pictured kissing and embracing a close aide in his departmental office last month have led to accusations of hypocrisy and calls for him to quit. the question is can matt hancock do hisjob? do thatjob? he might stay in office, but can he do hisjob? and i think it is fatally compromised in a situation where he does not seem to abide by the evidence that he wants us to follow, which is critical to our safety and making sure that this third wave isn t much bigger than we feared.
the government s opponents disagree. jonathan blake, bbc news. we can now speak to the former conservative health secretary, stephen laurel, and he was in that post from 1995 to 1997. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. first off, itjust your forjoining us on bbc news. first off, it just your assessment forjoining us on bbc news. first off, itjust your assessment of forjoining us on bbc news. first off, it just your assessment of what you have seen in the papers and i don t know if you have seen the cctv footage as well and reaction for borisjohnson, what do you make of all that? boris johnson, what do you make of all that? ~ , ., ., ~ all that? well, i bear matt hancock ersonall all that? well, i bear matt hancock personally no all that? well, i bear matt hancock personally no ill all that? well, i bear matt hancock personally no ill will. all that? well, i bear matt hancock personally no ill will. i all that? well, i bear matt hancock personally no ill will. i think- all that
then don t live up to them, that undermines the credibility and the authority of the party and therefore, and most importantly, from the public s perspective, the ability of the government to do its job. and the core question here is that the government needs to be able to handle this public health emergency and to speak persuasively to people about their behaviour. now, when matt hancock are spoken, he has spoken many times about the importance of social distancing, for public health reasons, that he himself has been caught out not observing the rules, that many millions of people have observed to their own personal distress, in extreme circumstances, when relatives have died, grandparents can t hold their grandchildren, all of the stories we have heard multiple times. matt, unfortunately, and as i say, i bear him no ill
seven, zero. 22.5 years injail for the police officer who murdered george floyd. adults across england are being urged to grab a covid jab, with hundreds of walk in centres open this weekend. hello, and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world. pressure is mounting on the uk health secretary, matt hancock, to resign, after pictures and now cctv footage emerged of him sharing an intimate embrace with an aide in his office. mr hancock admitted breaching social distancing guidance after the incident was exposed by the sun newspaper. downing street said the prime minister had accepted his apology and considered the matter closed.