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Former Chancellor and Home Secretary Sajid Javid will replace Matt Hancock as Health Secretary

Former Chancellor and Home Secretary Sajid Javid will replace Matt Hancock as Health Secretary, Downing Street has announced.

The news came less than two hours after Matt Hancock announced his resignation from the position following the emergence of video footage showing him kissing an aide in his ministerial office in a breach of coronavirus restrictions.

Mr Javid resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer in 2020 after he fell out of favour with Prime Minister Boris Johnson in February, when he was replaced by the current incumbent, Rishi Sunak - who was previously Mr Javid's deputy.

Javid's resignation came after Mr Johnson tried to sack his entire team in 2019, and amid rumours of a tumultuous relationship with Johnson's former senior adviser Dominic Cummings, who himself resigned in November last year.

But despite their stormy relationship, Mr Javid has returned to the Prime Minister's cabinet after over a year in the cold as an emergency replacement for Mr Hancock, who resigned at around 6pm on Saturday night.

Javid's appointment was announced less than two hours later, at around 7.50 pm. 

Former Chancellor and Home Secretary Sajid Javid (pictured) will replace Matt Hancock as Health Secretary, Downing Street has announced

Former Chancellor and Home Secretary Sajid Javid will replace Matt Hancock as Health Secretary, Downing Street has announced

After initially refusing to resign, Mr Hancock wrote a letter of resignation to Boris Johnson on Saturday in which he said the Government 'owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down'.

It later come to light that the Health Secretary told his wife, Martha, that he would be leaving her on Thursday night - immediately after discovering that his affair with Gina Coladangelo was about to be laid bare.

Images and video showed Mr Hancock in an embrace with aide Ms Coladangelo last month, and the Health Secretary was facing increasing pressure to quit over the breaking of social-distancing rules.

Mr Hancock 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.

'I want to reiterate my apology for breaking the guidance, and apologise to my family and loved ones for putting them through this. I also need be with my children at this time.'

The Prime Minister said he was 'sorry' to receive Mr Hancock's resignation as Health Secretary, adding he 'should leave office very proud of what you have achieved - not just in tackling the pandemic, but even before Covid-19 struck us'.

Boris Johnson continued: 'I am grateful for your support and believe that your contribution to public service is far from over.'

Ms Coladangelo is also reportedly leaving her position on the board of the Department of Health.

Mr Johnson had refused to sack Mr Hancock, with his spokesman saying the PM considered the matter closed after receiving the West Suffolk MP's apology on Friday. 

More to follow...

Matt Hancock's resignation letter in full

Dear Prime Minister

I am writing to resign as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. We have worked so hard as a country to fight the pandemic. 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. I want to reiterate my apology for breaking the guidance, and apologise to my family and loved ones for putting them through this. I also need be with my children at this time.

We owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down as I have done by breaching the guidance.

The NHS is the best gift a nation has ever given itself, and the dedication and courage of the NHS staff and the ceaseless work of the officials in the Department is something we should all be proud of. We didn't get every decision right but I know people understand how hard it is to deal with the unknown, making the difficult trade-offs between freedom, prosperity and health that we have faced. I am so proud that Britain avoided the catastrophe of an overwhelmed NHS and that through foresight and brilliant science we have led the world in the vaccination effort, so we stand on the brink of a return to normality.

The reforms we have started in the health system will ensure it continues to provide even better care for people in years to come. We are building a better NHS which makes smarter use of technology and data, forming a new UK Health Security Agency, delivering positive changes to mental health care and will fix the problems in social care once and for all.

Many times I stood at the podium in Downing Street and thanked the team - my own team, the NHS, the volunteers, the Armed Services, our pharmacists GPS, the pharmaceutical industry and the whole British public who have made such sacrifices to help others. Those thanks are heartfelt and sincere and so I must resign.

It has been the honour of my life to serve in your Cabinet as Secretary of State and I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved. I will of course continue to support you in whatever way I can from the back benches, and I would like to thank you for your unwavering support, your leadership and your optimism, particularly as we worked together to overcome this awful disease.

MATT HANCOCK 

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