Why Matt Hancock decided to head into jungle as political career 'ended'

The revelations have come after a frenzied round of calls and texts after Mr Hancock only let the party whips know at the last minute that he had decided to go on the show, according to sources.

The first to find out was his whip Nigel Huddleston quickly followed by Rishi Sunak’s new Chief Whip Simon Hart who is responsible for party discipline but was landed with a stunning crisis less than two weeks into the job.

One Tory MP said: “Simon [Hart] is quite a mild mannered chap, I’ve never seen him so angry.”

According to one MP, Mr Hancock only revealed that he was going just before he boarded his plane.

The incident had echoes of Nadine Dorries’ trip to Australia to do the same show in 2013 for which she later apologised.

Ms Dorries lost the whip (membership of the parliamentary party) when she came back but Mr Hart this time did not hesitate to pull the trigger and kick Mr Hancock out.
However, several Conservatives MPs said that the former cabinet minister “simply does not care.”

One told Express.co.uk: “He has made no secret that he is looking for a career outside politics.

“He’s been in the cabinet and he’s not interested in just being an MP.”

While Ms Dorries’ career survived the show and she later became Culture Secretary as well as a best selling author, Mr Hancock is expected to put a full stop on his political ambitions.

Several pointed to the fact that he has just published a new book Pandemic Diaries about his time as Health Secretary during the two year crisis.

He was forced to resign before the pandemic was over when footage emerged of him embracing and kissing his special adviser Gina Coladangelo in his Whitehall Office.

The incident not only cost him his job but also his marriage.

One MP said: “Matt has his book, he’s on I’m a Celebrity, he is looking for a media career outside Parliament.

“Even if he doesn’t get it he is sure he can earn more outside Westminster than as an MP.”

The Suffolk West MP has insisted that he is giving some of the money he receives from the show to charity.

But one MP noted: “The divorce has cost him a bit, he needs the money so I’d be surprised if he is giving all of it away.”

Mr Hancock joins the likes of Chris Moyles, Love Island star Olivia Attwood and royal Mike Tindall on the show.

In an interview with the Sun tonight, Mr Hancock said: “Some may think I’ve lost my marbles or had one too many drinks, swapping the comfortable surroundings of Westminster and West Suffolk for the extreme conditions of the Australian outback, going where there will be few creature comforts, not enough food, and a load of physical tasks involving snakes, spiders and plenty of other creepy-crawlies.