Matthew Hancock

Dear Prime Minister, I am writing to resign as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. 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 to be with my children at this time.  We owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down as I have done by breaching the guidance.

The Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, dropped out of the leadership race last week and had been mulling whether to support Michael Gove (odds: 25/1) or Boris Johnson (1/5). In the end, he went for Boris. In an article in The Times, he says more. Here's an edited extract. Central to my outlook is that we need to be optimistic about our country, take an optimistic view of human nature, and get this country moving forward with energy and vim. Because I care about people’s chances in life, I also care deeply about the best way to stop Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister. Boris has run a disciplined campaign and is almost certainly going to be our next prime minister.

New year is the time when we reflect on the year gone by and look forward to the year ahead. For small businesses, it is no different. 2013 was the year when small business really started motoring again, after Labour’s Great Recession. But there is more to do. Because although our recovery is real, it is still fragile. As a Government we have to go on making life easier for small business. Conservatives value small business because of the ethos they embody of hard work and reward for effort. They matter because of the jobs and prosperity they create, and the opportunity they create for people to rise and achieve their dreams. Small businesses allow people to get on in life and have a better, more secure future. And of course they are crucial to our country's future too.