Empty booze bottles are binned by Matt Hancock’s lover – then the couple share a kiss just like the one that cost him his job.
While the country is still in the grip of the pandemic, Mr Hancock and Gina Coladangelo are happily enjoying time at their new lovenest.
The former Health Secretary, 43, has a flat in a two-storey block in West Hampstead, North London.
And married Ms Coladangelo, his former aide, has been coming to stay overnight.
She was spotted hauling a large bag of empties into the bin.
Father-of-three Mr Hancock, meanwhile, went out to his car to take out boxes full of his stuff, before heading off to work.
Days later they were seen sharing an embrace at the door after Gina, 44, had taken the bins out again.
They locked lips, just as they did in the MP’s office back in June, when social distancing did not seem to be uppermost in their minds.
Mr Hancock, who had presided over the Government’s shambolic handling of the pandemic, later fell on his sword and resigned. Neighbours in West Hampstead say the couple look very happy together.
One said: “Wasn’t it Theresa May who said that taking the bins out was a boy’s job? Looks like Matt’s turned that on its head.
“It looks like they’ve settled in pretty quickly, and they’re obviously really cosy with each other.”
The pair have enjoyed two getaways in recent weeks – to the Swiss Alps and Croatia. Mr Hancock’s marriage of 15 years to wife Martha broke down in the wake of the CCTV clinch scandal.
At the time he said: “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 reiterate my apology for breaking the guidance, and apologise to my family and loved ones for putting them through this. I also need to be with my children at this time.”
Gina is a mother of three. Her children and husband Oliver Tress – founder of retail chain Oliver Bonas – live in the £3.6million family home in Wandsworth, South London.
'He'll need a stiff drink once the inquiry starts'
- Analysis, by Nigel Nelson
No wonder Matt Hancock is hitting the bottle.
Not only did he lose the extra £67,505 a year he was paid on top of his MP salary for his Health Secretary job.
But soon after that he was disqualified from another one. And the only outside earnings he has been able to make to fund his new home is £2,000 from a newspaper article. Though he is trying to negotiate a £100,000 book deal.
Not that he would have been quids in with the UN role helping Africa’s economy recover from Covid – as it was unpaid. But it would have given him the kudos he needs to rebuild his shattered political career.
The UN withdrew last month’s offer after finding an obscure rule which says sitting MPs are prohibited from the post – and Africa was spared.
Now Hancock will need a few more stiff drinks before the sleaze row rocking Westminster engulfs him, too. It will not be long before his own cronyism is back under the microscope.
The National Audit Office said half the £18billion on pandemic contracts was awarded without competitive tender. Even the MP’s local pub landlord won a deal for Covid tests. Nothing to do with me, guv, said Hancock.
And he’d better get a good stock of hooch in before the public inquiry into the pandemic begins as flowers bloom next spring. He won’t come up smelling of roses.
PPE shortages, the test and trace fiasco and discharging patients with Covid back into care homes are mistakes likely to be laid at his door.
A Cabinet return? I think not.
