UK Health Minister Matt Hancock Resigns After Kissing Photos Trigger COVID Violation Row

London: Britain’s Health Minister Matt Hancock resigned on Saturday following revelations that he broke government coronavirus restrictions during an affair with a close aide.

The 42-year-old wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson about his resignation.

“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,” he said in the letter.

“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.”

Johnson said he was sorry to receive Hancock’s resignation, and that he should be “immensely proud” of his service.

Hancock has been at the centre of the government’s fight against the pandemic, routinely appearing on the television and radio to tell people to follow the strict rules to contain the virus.