Ex-UK health secretary leaves wife for aide after scandal

LONDON • Former British health secretary Matt Hancock has left his wife of 15 years for the aide that he was spotted embracing and kissing in his office last week, according to British media reports.

The aide, Ms Gina Coladangelo, also reportedly left her marital home just hours before the adulterous pictures were made public, according to the Mail Online.

Reuters reported that the government has launched an investigation into how the footage found its way into the media and forced the resignation of Mr Hancock, 42, in the latest scandal to hit Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government.

The steamy embrace has led to accusations that Mr Hancock violated Britain's social distancing guidelines.

The Mail on Sunday newspaper reported that a whistle-blower in the Department of Health had obtained the footage, without saying how it got the information. The Sunday Times said the camera had been hidden inside a smoke detector, also without saying where it had obtained the information.

Cabinet ministers have demanded immediate security sweeps of their offices, the newspaper reported, according to Bloomberg.

Mr Hancock's wife Martha, 44, has remained tight-lipped following the revelations about her husband. She works as an osteopath and the former couple have three children together.

Ms Coladangelo, 43, and her millionaire husband, Oliver Bonas founder Oliver Tress, 54, also have three children.

Ms Coladangelo and Mr Hancock met when they were in university. He had put her on the public payroll only last year, and she was reportedly paid £15,000 (S$28,000) for 15 days of work each year.

Ms Coladangelo is a major shareholder and director of lobbying firm Luther Pendragon, and also worked as communications director for Oliver Bonas. Her father is chief executive officer of a pharmaceutical company.

Mr Johnson accepted Mr Hancock's resignation on Saturday, but suggested he might return to a higher public role.