Matt Hancock told he will never sit as a Tory MP again

Matt Hancock is told he will never sit as a Tory MP again after his leaked WhatsApp messages infuriated party colleagues, sources say

Matt Hancock will not be welcomed back into the Conservative fold, sources say
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Matt Hancock has so infuriated his party over his leaked WhatsApp messages that he will never be allowed to sit as a Tory MP again, senior sources said last night.

They revealed that the former Health Secretary – currently forced to sit as an Independent MP after taking part in ITV’s I’m A Celebrity – will not get the party whip back.

Friends of Mr Hancock, who was suspended from the party last November, say he was promised last year that he would be returned to the Tory fold.

But sources told The Mail on Sunday that, after the leak of over 100,000 of his WhatsApp exchanges, he ‘can forget about getting the whip back’.

Last night, senior Tory MP and former Justice Secretary Robert Buckland welcomed the move, saying: ‘I’m afraid his leaked WhatsApp messages have caused so much concern that it would be very surprising if the Tory whip was restored to him.’

Friends of Mr Hancock, who was suspended from the party last November, say he was promised last year that he would be returned to the Tory fold

Friends of the West Suffolk MP, who is standing down at the next Election, also pointed out that Tory MP Nadine Dorries was restored to the party whip after she took part in I’m A Celebrity

However, allies of Mr Hancock insisted that the trawl of WhatsApp messages sent by the former Health Secretary during the pandemic had failed to reveal a ‘smoking gun’.

That’s despite claims that the texts exposed the practice of ‘Government by WhatsApp’ and with one message apparently showing Mr Hancock discussing how the Alpha Covid variant could be used to ‘frighten the pants off everyone’ to encourage lockdown compliance.

Friends of the West Suffolk MP, who is standing down at the next Election, also pointed out that Tory MP Nadine Dorries was restored to the party whip after she took part in I’m A Celebrity in 2012.

Allies of Mr Hancock insisted that the trawl of WhatsApp messages sent by the former Health Secretary during the pandemic had failed to reveal a ‘smoking gun’

Tory MPs are furious that comments by fellow Ministers have also been laid bare in the leak – not just Mr Hancock’s (Robert Buckland, former Justice Secretary)

But party colleagues insist that any promises to come back ‘a la Dorries’ predated the ‘total fiasco’ of the leaked messages.

Last week, the texts suggested that Mr Hancock discussed threatening to block a disability centre to pressure a Tory MP to accept Covid restrictions, prompting former Tory chairman Jake Berry to brand his behaviour ‘despicable’.

Mr Hancock’s spokesman said: ‘What has been accused never happened.’

However, Tory MPs are furious that comments by fellow Ministers have also been laid bare in the leak – not just Mr Hancock’s.

But one ally of Mr Hancock pointed out that he didn’t leak the WhatsApp messages in the first place.

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