Sajid Javid ‘honored’ to take over as Health Secretary as Matt Hancock resigns over violation of Covid rules Bedford News

Sajid Javid said he was “honored” to take over as Health Secretary after Matt Hancock resigned from his post after being caught kissing a close aide in his ministerial office.

Mr Javid’s appointment came the day after footage of the then-married Health Secretary was released in an embrace with aide Gina Coladangelo in violation of social distancing rules.

The former Chancellor and Home Secretary was appointed to the post just 90 minutes after Downing Street announced Mr Hancock had resigned on Saturday (June 26) evening.

Mr Javid’s appointment marks his return to the top of politics after abruptly leaving Cabinet 16 months ago.

The new health secretary was only six months away from his post as chancellor and less than a month away from handing in his first budget, when he announced he was stepping down after receiving the order to dismiss all his advisers and replace them with a non-unit 10 / N ° 11 spouse.

Mr Javid was the shortest chancellor since Iain Macleod, who died shortly after taking office in 1970, according to the Institute for Government.

Announcing his return to Boris Johnson’s top team, Mr Javid said he was “honored” to be asked to take on the role.

In a tweet, he wrote: “Honored to have been invited to serve as Secretary of State for Health and Social Affairs at this critical time.

“I look forward to contributing to our fight against the pandemic and to serving my country again from Cabinet. “

Mr Javid will take on several huge tasks ahead, including completing the deployment of the Covid-19 vaccine and resolving the huge backlog of treatments.

Labor shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: ‘Sajid Javid has failed to reverse the previous eight years of cuts to social care or deliver the investment our NHS needed in its time in as Chancellor of the Exchequer.

“Now he needs to explain how he will cut sky-high waiting lists, make sure people get the cancer care they need, get life-saving mental health support for young people and crucially fix care. social, which have suffered severe cuts under the Tories. “

Mr Hancock wrote to Mr Johnson on Saturday saying he had let the people of the country down by breaking the guidelines.

He said: “The last thing I want is my private life to distract from the purposeful goal that is getting us out of this crisis.

“I would like to reiterate my apologies for breaking the guidelines and apologize to my family and loved ones for putting them through this. I also need to be with my kids right now.

“We owe it to the people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we let them down like I did by breaking guidelines. “

Mr Hancock paid tribute to NHS staff and DHSC officials and admitted that “we did not make all the decisions correctly”.

In a video posted to Twitter, he added, “I understand the huge sacrifices everyone in this country has made, you have made. And those of us who make these rules must abide by them and that is why I must resign.

Responding to Mr Hancock’s letter, the Prime Minister said the former health secretary should be “very proud” of what he has accomplished in this role, both during and before the pandemic.

Mr Johnson added: ‘Above all, it has been your task to meet a challenge greater than that faced by any of your predecessors, and by fighting Covid you have met that challenge – with the abundant energy, intelligence and determination that are your hallmark.

Ms Coladangelo is also said to have quit her post at the Department of Health following the resignation of Matt Hancock.

Labor demanded the release of all documents relating to her appointment to the department, after she first entered as an unpaid adviser and was subsequently given a £ 15,000-a-year job as a non-executive director.