Matt Hancock quits as health secretary after kiss with aide

Matt Hancock has dramatically quit as health secretary after admitting breaking Covid rules during an alleged affair with an aide in his departmental office.

The minister’s resignation statement came amid growing clamour for Boris Johnson to remove him from the cabinet, or risk jeopardising vital public health messages as the government continues to respond to the Covid-19 crisis.

The prime minister also announced that Sajid Javid, who quit as chancellor in February 2020 after a standoff with No 10 over an attempt to curtail his power at the Treasury, would return to government as health secretary.