Boris Johnson tells Matt Hancock 'You should leave office very proud of what you have achieved' after resignation letter – in far cry from 'f****** hopeless' WhatsApp post of last year

Boris Johnson has replied to Matt Hancock's resignation today by telling him he should be 'immensely proud' of his service - despite the Prime Minister earlier labelling him as 'totally f***ing hopeless' in a private WhatsApp message sent to Dominic Cummings.  

Mr Hancock resigned as Health Secretary the day after video footage emerged of him kissing an aide, Gina Coladangelo, in his ministerial office in a breach of coronavirus restrictions.

In response, the Prime Minister wrote to him: 'You should be immensely proud of your service. I am grateful for your support and believe that your contribution to public service is far from over. '

Mr Johnson's words of encouragement come  after Mr Cummings - his former chief aide - stepped up his war with Number 10 in mid-June when he published a number of bombshell messages sent to him by the PM.

In one exchange from March 27 last year, Mr Cummings criticised the Health Secretary over the failure to ramp up Covid testing, with Mr Johnson replying: 'Totally f***ing hopeless.' 

Boris Johnson has replied to Matt Hancock's resignation today by telling him he should be 'immensely proud' of his service - despite the Prime Minister earlier labelling him as 'totally f***ing hopeless' in a private WhatsApp message sent to Dominic Cummings

 

Mr Hancock resigned as Health Secretary the day after video footage emerged of him kissing an aide, Gina Coladangelo, in his ministerial office in a breach of coronavirus restrictions. In response, the Prime Minister wrote to him: 'You should be immensely proud of your service. I am grateful for your support and believe that your contribution to public service is far from over '

Another from the same day saw Mr Cummings complain that the Department of Health had been turning down ventilators because 'the price has been marked up'. Mr Johnson said: 'It's Hancock. He has been hopeless.'

Mr Cummings also accused the senior minister of lying to the Prime Minister over promises to protect those in care homes during the first wave of Covid-19 infections by testing new residents before being admitted. 

In his letter of resignation, Mr Hancock said the Government 'owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down'. 

The former Health Secretary added: 'The last thing I would want is for my private life to distract attention from the single-minded focus that is leading us out of this crisis.' 

In response, Mr Johnson said he was 'sorry' to receive Mr Hancock's resignation.

The Prime Minister wrote: 'You should leave office very proud of what you have achieved - not just in tackling the pandemic, but even before Covid-19 struck us. 

'Under your leadership, the Department has led fundamental reforms to the provision of care in this country. The NHS Long Term Plan was a major milestone in the history of that great institution. 

In his letter of resignation, Mr Hancock said the Government 'owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down'

Mr Johnson's words of encouragement come after Dominic Cummings - his former chief aide - stepped up his war with Number 10 in mid-June when he published a number of bombshell messages sent to him by the PM. In one exchange from March 27 last year, Mr Cummings criticised the Health Secretary over the failure to ramp up Covid testing, with Mr Johnson replying: 'Totally f***ing hopeless'

The former Health Secretary wrote in his resignation letter: 'The last thing I would want is for my private life to distract attention from the single-minded focus that is leading us out of this crisis'

'Your work on the Health and Care Bill will support our NHS and deliver greater integration between health and social care.'

The then-Health Secretary had previously dismissed the significance of the bombshell Cummings's messages.

Mr Hancock said the communications, sent during the height of the coronavirus crisis last year, represented 'ancient history'. 

The senior minister, who had held three cabinet positions before reaching his 40th birthday, announced his resignation in a video and formal letter to the Prime Minister.

He said: 'I understand the enormous sacrifices that everybody in this country has made, you have made. And those of us who make these rules have got to stick by them and that's why I've got to resign.'

Appointed Health Secretary in 2018 after spending 18 months in the culture brief, he has been a prominent figure for the Government during its handling of the coronavirus pandemic until his resignation on Saturday. 

Mr Hancock's kiss with Ms Coladangelo is alleged to have taken place in the corridor outside his office at the Department for Health's headquarters in central London at around 3pm on May 6 this year