Health Secretary Matt Hancock ‘is having affair’ with his closest aide, according to reports
Health Secretary Matt Hancock ‘is having affair’ with his closest aide, 43, after pair were caught on camera having a passionate clinch outside his Whitehall office
- Matt Hancock, 42, is allegedly having an affair with lobbyist Gina Coladangelo
- The Sun reports Health Secretary caught kissing mother-of-three at Whitehall
- Health Secretary Hancock has been married for 15 years and has three children
- A source told the Sun they had ‘no comment’ but denied Covid rules breached
Matt Hancock is today at the centre of a cheating scandal after claims emerged of an alleged affair with his closest aide.
The Health Secretary, 42, has been caught on camera in a passionate clinch with millionaire lobbyist Gina Coladangelo, according to the Sun.
The incident is alleged to have taken place outside his office at the Department for Health’s headquarters in London.
Mr Hancock has been married for 15 years to wife Martha, and the pair have three children together.
Communications director and lobbyist Mrs Coladangelo meanwhile is a mother-of-three, whose husband is the founder of clothing shop Oliver Bonas.
MailOnline has contacted representatives for Mr Hancock for a comment.
A friend of Mr Hancock’s reportedly told the Sun they had ‘no comment’ on the matter, but that ‘no rules’ had been breached.
The Health Secretary, 42, has been seen having a passionate clinch with millionaire lobbyist Gina Coladangelo (pictured here with Matt Hancock outside Downing Street), according to the Sun
Mr Hancock has been married for 15 years to wife Martha, with whom he has three children
Matt Hancock’s closest aide Gina Coladangelo was his friend at Oxford and went on to be a millionaire comms director at Oliver Bonas – her husband’s firm
Gina Coladangelo works for the company her husband Oliver Tress (pictured together several years ago) founded – while also being Mr Hancock’s closest aid
The woman Matt Hancock has been allegedly having an affair with is a millionaire communications director of fashion firm Oliver Bonas.
Gina Coladangelo works for the company her husband Oliver Tress founded – while also being Mr Hancock’s closest aide.
The mother of three, 43, is a major shareholder – as well as director – of the lobbying firm Luther Pendragon.
Her appointment to the Department of Health in March 2020 by Mr Hancock sparked uproar due to her outside interests.
She has been spotted leaving Downing Street with the Health Secretary on a number of occasions.
A source told the Sunday Times last year: ‘Before Matt does anything big, he’ll speak to Gina. She knows everything.’
She was an unpaid adviser for Mr Hancock but claims of ‘chumocracy’ emerged in November when it was revealed she was attending confidential meetings.
Mrs Coladangelo was made a non-executive director at the Department for Health in September.
She shows off the role on her LinkedIn page and has to ‘oversee and monitor performance’.
She says: ‘I have over twenty years’ experience in business management and marketing and communications, with a focus on retail, healthcare, the third sector and energy.
Mrs Coladangelo shows off the role on her LinkedIn page and has to ‘oversee and monitor performance’
‘Marketing expertise across media relations, consumer campaigns, social media, digital strategy, strategic collaborations, internal communications, issues management and public affairs.’
But her new role was not made public despite her getting access to £15,000 from the taxpayer.
Mr Hancock and Mrs Coladangelo, who it was revealed last night have allegedly been having an affair, first met at Oxford University while working on student radio together.
She studied politics, philosophy and economics (PPE) at Oxford between 1995 and 1998, the same as Mr Hancock.
Despite them knowing each other and apparently rekindling relations in later life, Mr Hancock married Martha Millar in 2006.
While working as Head of Marketing at Oliver Bonas, Mrs Coladangelo contributed to a post on International Women’s Day.
While working as Head of Marketing at Oliver Bonas, Mrs Coladangelo (pictured right) contributed to a post on International Women’s Day
She wrote: ‘You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing. Decide what you want and don’t want – and stick to it. It is up to you to live a life you love.’
Mrs Coladangelo has access to the Houses of Parliament due to gaining a pass in April and is also said to be bound by the Official Secrets Act.
The pass reportedly has her husband’s surname on it, but she does not use it for her work.
House of Lords peer Lord Bethell sponsored her for the pass.
Away from work, Mrs Coladangelo has two children – Talia and Bruno.
In 2012 she told the Daily Mail how she had returned to work while being a mother.
She paid for a live-in nanny at their home in south-west London and worked flexible hours.
Mrs Coladangelo said: ‘I don’t worry about my children being closer to their nanny, because I spend as much time as I can with them.
‘I would never dream of telling other mothers what to do with their lives. Every woman has to make her own choice.
‘But I feel very fortunate in my education and believe those years shouldn’t be wasted. I want to work to give something back.’
It comes after photographs appearing to show Mr Hancock kissing Mrs Coladangelo were published in the paper.
In the pictures, which appear to be from CCTV footage, Mr Hancock also appears to have his hand on the woman’s backside.
Meanwhile, a source told the Sun that it was ‘shocking that Mr Hancock was having an affair in the middle of a pandemic’.
According to paper, the incident took place around 3pm on May 6, on the day of the local elections.
But the whistleblower told the Sun that they have been caught having ‘regular clinches together’.
The source told the paper: ‘It has also shocked people because he put her in such an important, publicly-funded role and this is what they get up to in office hours when everyone else is working hard.’
Mrs Coladangelo, who is a director and shareholder at lobbying firm Luther Pendragon, was appointed to the Department of Health as an unpaid adviser in March last year.
Mrs Coladangelo was appointed as a non-executive director at the department in September, meaning she is a member of the board.
She can claim up to £15,000 in taxpayers’ money in the role, though there is no public record of her appointment.
Mrs Coladangelo has had a parliamentary pass, which gives her access to Westminster, since April.
The reports of the alleged affair come just weeks after Hancock was pictured enjoying lunch out with wife Martha – the granddaughter of Frederick Millar, 1st Baron Inchyra – in London.
The pair were seen waiting for a taxi after eating at Exmouth market in the capital.
Earlier this year, the father-of-three, who has two son and a daughter, was seen playing rugby in the park with his boys.
The affair claims come just a day after the Queen expressed her sympathy for the under fire Health Secretary, referring to him as ‘poor man’.
The Monarch, 96, made the comment as she welcomed Boris Johnson back to Buckingham Palace for her first in-person weekly audience with the Prime Minister since March last year.
The monarch told Mr Johnson it was ‘very nice to see you again’ and the premier replied: ‘Lovely to see you again. It has been 15 months…’
The Queen then said: ‘Has it really? It is most extraordinary, isn’t it? I have just been talking to your Secretary of State for Health, poor man, he came to the privy council. He is full of…’
Mr Johnson interrupted and suggested ‘full of beans’ as the Queen then continued: ‘He thinks that things are getting better.’
Mr Johnson replied: ‘Well, they are…’
The expression of sympathy from the monarch comes after Mr Hancock found himself at the centre of a political firestorm after Dominic Cummings published text messages from the PM in which Mr Johnson referred to the Cabinet minister as ‘totally f****** hopeless’.
The Health Secretary dismissed the significance of the bombshell messages from Mr Johnson.
Mr Hancock said the communications, sent during the height of the coronavirus crisis last year, represented ‘ancient history’.
He said that ‘at times of stress people say all sorts of things in private’ but ‘what matters most is how well you work together’.
The Cabinet Minister also said he is not embarrassed by Mr Johnson’s apparent assessment of his performance.
Mr Cummings, the PM’s former chief aide, stepped up his war with Number 10 last week when he published a number of messages sent to him by Mr Johnson.
In one exchange from March 27 last year, Mr Cummings criticised the Health Secretary over the failure to ramp up testing, with Mr Johnson replying: ‘Totally f****** hopeless.’
Another from the same day saw Mr Cummings complain that the Department of Health had been turning down ventilators because ‘the price has been marked up’. Mr Johnson said: ‘It’s Hancock. He has been hopeless.’
On April 27, Mr Johnson apparently messaged Mr Cummings to say that PPE procurement was a ‘disaster’, suggesting that responsibility should be taken away from the Health Secretary.
‘I can’t think of anything except taking Hancock off and putting Gove on,’ the PM said.
Mr Hancock was asked last week, during an interview with the BBC Breakfast programme, how he felt about the PM describing him as ‘hopeless’.
He said: ‘Honestly? It feels like ancient history, right? The vaccine programme is a huge success.
‘At times of stress people say all sorts of things in private. What matters is how well you work together.
‘You are referring to comments apparently from the Prime Minister. I work with the Prime Minister every single day.
‘We work very strongly together, firstly to protect life and secondly to get the country out of this. That is what matters.’
Told that it must be embarrassing for him to know Mr Johnson had said such things, Mr Hancock replied: ‘No, it isn’t really because of all the things we have delivered together.’
‘We are here talking about the success of the vaccine programme, right? That is something that I very much led from the department, working with the Prime Minister.
Mrs Coladangelo (pictured here with husband Oliver Tress – the founder of the Oliver Bonas clothing chain), who is a director and shareholder at lobbying firm Luther Pendragon, was appointed to the Department of Health as an unpaid adviser in March last year
Matt Hancock and wife Martha spotted out in London earlier this month. The couple had lunch in Exmouth market in the city of London
Mr Hancock has posted pictures of him and his wife on Instagram, including this one in 2017 as they attended the Brit Awards
‘He has been a massive supporter of it throughout. Of course we have had obstacles and we have had people that we have had to deal with on the way.
‘But what I can tell you is that the delivery of that programme has been absolutely fantastic.’
Last night, Mr Hancock, prior to the publication of the Sun exclusive, posted an Instagram story appealing for more women to ‘get involved in politics’.
Mr Johnson said last week that he has ‘complete confidence’ in Mr Hancock and ‘all of the Government who have been dealing with Covid-19 during the pandemic’.
Meanwhile, last night, Mr Hancock, prior to the publication of the Sun exclusive, posted an Instagram story appealing for more women to ‘get involved in politics’.
In the post, Mr Hancock says he works ‘alongside some brilliant women’.
The post adds: ‘If you’re a woman who wants to get involved in politics swipe up.’
Swiping up takes a person to a link to the Conservative Party page, calling for ‘more Conservative women at every level of the Party and Government’.
Oxford-educated Hancock first became involved in politics working as a Tory campaigner in Guildford, before becoming an economic advisor to then shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.
He was elected as an MP for West Suffolk in 2010 and has held several ministerial jobs, including his most recent and high profile role as Health Secretary, a position he was given in 2018 under then Prime Minister Theresa May.
