Just under 80% of Echo readers believe Boris Johnson should have sacked disgraced former health secretary Matt Hancock before he resigned, a new survey suggests.
Mr Hancock left his role yesterday after images emerged of the minister, who is married with three children, appearing to kiss aide Gina Coladangelo at the Department for Health.
At the time, England's law banned indoor social gatherings of people from different households, and guidance urged people to stay two metres apart and avoid "face to face contact".
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A number of national media outlets are now reporting the Mr Hancock left his wife Martha on Thursday evening, shortly before the pictures were made public.
The images of Mr Hancock and Mrs Coladangelo, reportedly taken on May 6, showed a breach of the government's own social distancing rules that were in place at the time and Mr Hancock made clear it that the breach was the reason for his resignation.
However, a survey of ECHO readers suggests that 79% believe Prime Minister Johnson should have sacked him.
A similar though slightly smaller proportion, just under three quarters of the 1,006 people who responded, believe he was right to resign. A quarter of respondents thought his decision to resign was the wrong one.
Readers were more split on whether his resignation after breaking the rules would make them more likely to follow them.
Just over two thirds said that Mr Hancock's resignation would make them more likely to follow the rules, while 23% said it would not and a further 10% said they were unsure.
In his resignation letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Hancock apologised for breaking the rules.
He said: "We have worked so hard as a country to fight the pandemic. The last thing I would want is for my private life to distract attention from the single-minded focus that is leading us out of this crisis.
"I want to reiterate my apology for breaking the guidance, and apologise to my family and loved ones for putting them through this. I also need be with my children at this time."
Mr Hancock has been replaced as Health Secretary by Sajid Javid.
It is a return to the front bench for Mr Javid, who resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer shortly before the pandemic began after Prime Minister Johnson demanded he sack his key aides.
