Hancock out in uproar, Johnson names Javid new UK health chief

Bloomberg

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson moved to re-establish his government’s authority after the health secretary resigned for breaking his own pandemic rules.
Matt Hancock quit after he was caught embracing a senior aide in his office, in breach of the social distancing guidelines he helped to create. The episode rebounded immediately on Johnson, who had initially fought to keep Hancock in his job and then faced criticism for being too weak to fire the minister.
Two hours after Hancock resigned, the premier tried to put an end to the controversy by replacing him with Sajid Javid, a former chancellor of the exchequer. That choice is also
potentially dangerous: Javid himself resigned during a face-to-face argument with Johnson after a cabinet reshuffle went wrong in February 2020.
Since then, though, Javid, 51, has been loyal in the ranks and Johnson has now rewarded him with a return to the cabinet. “I want our country to get out of this pandemic and that will be my most immediate priority,” Javid said.
“Those of us who make these rules have got to stick by them, and that’s why I’ve got to resign.” The Hancock episode was a further blow to the reputation of Johnson’s government, after a succession of embarrassing controversies in recent months.
“There’s no doubt people have been angry and frustrated,” Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said on Sky News. “Matt has made the right decision.”
Pressure mounted after senior officials in Johnson’s Conservative Party said the minister’s behavior was beyond the pale, with one highlighting the hypocrisy of Hancock flouting the very rules that he helped create. Conservative lawmaker Andrew Bridgen told Times Radio that Hancock’s conduct was also on the radar of potential voters in next week’s by-election in Batley and Spen.
“Those of us who make these rules have got to stick by them and that’s why I’ve got to resign,” Hancock, 42, said.