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Hello and welcome to Coffee House Shots, the Spectator's Daily Politics Podcast. I'm Cindy

you and I'm joined by Isabel Hardman and James Fassai.

So last night the Sun went to press with a bombshell of a front page. Isabel has transpired that

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, has been having an affair with one of his top aides.

You can tell us what's going on and what we know?

So the Sun splashes today on the revelations that Health Secretary Matt Hancock has been

having an affair with Gina Colladangelo, who has been working as an unpaid advisor to him in the

department and also has been a non-executive director on the Department of Health's board since last September,

an appointment that was covered by, I think, the Sunday Times as quite a controversial choice.

Now, I think generally on these podcasts, we tend to say that MP's affairs are not that interesting.

We don't tend to talk about MP's personal lives on these podcasts because we don't find them that interesting. We don't tend to talk about MPs or personal lives on these

podcasts because we don't find them that interesting. But what is of note in this is that the affair

has been taking place in the Department of Health. So the Sun has what appears to be CCTV footage

of the pair in what the paper describes as regular clenches.

These regular clenches also were taking place before hugs or, if you prefer, clenches were

actually allowed under lockdown guidance. They apparently were the footage dates from

the 6th of May, so before hugs were allowed again.

And she is the recipient of taxpayer money for the work that she has been doing for the department.

And so this makes it a matter of public interest beyond just the sort of normal things that happen in Westminster.

Westminster is notorious for people's marriages breaking down and people having affairs with

...