British Prime Minister Boris Johnson rejected calls on Friday to fire his health secretary, after pictures appeared of him embracing and kissing an aide in his office, in what he acknowledged was a breach of coronavirus rules.
The Sun newspaper, which published the photographs of Matt Hancock and the aide on its front page, said the images were takenlast month, before the government lifted rules banning intimate contact with people outside a person’s household.
The aide had been a friend of Hancock’s before she was appointed to his staff. Hancock is married.
“I accept that I breached the social distancing guidance in these circumstances,” Hancock said. “I have let people down and am very sorry. I remain focused on working to get the country out of this pandemic, and would be grateful for privacy for my family on this personal matter.”
Hancock, 42, has been at the centre of the government’s fight against the pandemic, often appearing on television to tell the public to follow…