I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! star and occasional MP Matt Hancock is officially back at Westminster to do his job.
The former health secretary was snapped by photographers with a smile pulling up to the Houses of Parliament earlier this morning.
Though he may have little reason to be grinning soon.
His stint on the ITV reality show, in which he finished third place, has come under scrutiny from Conservative Party bosses – prime minister Rishi Sunak included.
Hancock flew hundreds of thousands of miles to Australia to eat animal genitalia, among other things, amid the cost-of-living crisis and when the Commons was sitting.
The Tories were quick to react. Hancock had the whip suspended by party chiefs, meaning he now sits in Parliament as an independent MP.
But the West Suffolk MP is now back in Westminster for the second reading of his private member’s bill that will see Hancock face a potential grilling from MPs.
The dyslexia screening and teacher training bill would provide screening for dyslexia in primary schools and improve teacher training.
Hancock has defended jaunting to the Australian jungle by saying he would use I’m a Celeb to boost his dyslexia campaign.
Yet, he would mention this only a few times while his spokesperson insisted he had access to his laptop on the show to respond to his constituents.
Writing in The Sun, Hancock said politicians should embrace pop culture like I’m a Celeb to get their messages out.
‘For example, while most people will know me for being the health secretary during the pandemic, what you probably won’t know is that I am dyslexic and I’ve been campaigning for better identification and support for dyslexic children,’ he wrote.
He also told his fellow bushtucker trialists he was on the programme to ask for ‘forgiveness’ following the significant role he placed in the government’s botched handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
It emerged yesterday he was paid £45,000 to appear on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins just before taking a reported £400,000 for I’m a Celeb.
Now the question mark over Hancock’s head will be whether he has the whip restored – meaning he’d be able to run as a Tory MP in the next election.
But there’s not exactly long to do this.
Hancock needs support from his former party by next Monday to declare his intention to re-run, as a Tory that is.
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