Former health secretary Matt Hancock has suspended the whip after a source close to him said he is going on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.
Hancock will be jetting off to the Australian jungle, reportedly as a latecomer to the reality TV show.
Senior MP Simon Hart said: “Following a conversation with Matt Hancock, I have considered the situation and believe this is a serious enough matter to warrant the suspension of the whip with immediate effect.”
Hancock was health secretary during the COVID pandemic but resigned after breaking lockdown rules by having an affair in his ministerial office with aide Gina Coladangelo.
The source said: “I’m A Celeb is the most watched show on TV.
“Matt doesn’t expect to serve in government again, so it’s an incredible opportunity for him to engage with the 12 million Brits who tune in every night.
“Matt has told the whips in parliament and will use his time in the jungle to promote his dyslexia campaign.
“Matt has an excellent team working with him in West Suffolk, but the growers have agreed that he can contact them if there is an urgent constituency matter.”
The source added: “There are many ways to do the job of being an MP.
“Whether he’s in the camp for a day or three weeks, there are very few places where people will get to see a politician as he really is.
“Where better to show the human side of those who make these decisions than with the most watched program on television?”.
I’m a Celebrity Get Me out of Here starts on ITV on November 6.
The local Tory Party members of Mr. Hancock are less than pleased with his decision to fly to Australia to appear on the show.
Andy Drummond, the vice-chairman of the West Suffolk Conservative Association, told the PA news agency: “I’m looking forward to eating a kangaroo’s penis.
“Quote me. You can quote me [on] this.”
SNP MP Pete Wishart said: “It says a lot that Matt Hancock would rather be stuck in a remote jungle eating kangaroo testicles than spend another little while on the Tory benches in Westminster as Rishi Sunak’s government from one crisis to another”.
Hancock will not be the first politician to enter the jungle.
Conservative MP Nadine Dorries took part in the twelfth season of I’m a Celebrity in 2012, coming in 11th place.
In response to Mr Hancock’s news, he joked that at least he “doesn’t have to worry about George Osborne in No 10 waiting to crack the whip when he comes back”.