Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Sep 06, 2025

Hancock faces fresh questions over parliamentary access for his lover

Matt Hancock, the former health secretary, is facing questions over the privileged access he gave to his lover after it emerged he had issued her with a parliamentary pass when her only declared work was as a communications chief for a private company.

Hancock eventually resigned after CCTV footage emerged of an office embrace with aide Gina Coladangelo, admitting he had broken social distancing guidelines. Legal experts said the office clinch broke Covid laws. He is understood to have left his wife.

Serious questions remain about Coladangelo’s role and the access she had to parliament well before the footage emerged. Sources have said Coladangelo began advising Hancock in an unpaid capacity in early 2020. But official documents show she had a House of Commons pass through his office from June 2019 to February 2020, before her term as an unpaid adviser began.




At the time, her only position was as the marketing and communications director at Oliver Bonas, the retailer founded by her husband, Oliver Tress. Parliamentary registers show she received the pass under her married name, Gina Tress. She did not list any other occupation in the register. Any additional job has to be listed if it “is in any way advantaged by the privileged access to parliament afforded by your pass”. Coladangelo was involved in Hancock’s leadership bid in 2019, but he pulled out of the race in mid-June 2019.

The parliamentary commissioner for standards has been asked to investigate the circumstances in which she was given the pass and what role she was carrying out. Labour has requested an investigation into why Coladangelo was not listed as a passholder after February 2020, despite a photograph emerging that suggests she had a pass that expired in April 2020. Hancock’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

It is the latest set of questions to be raised in the wake of Hancock’s resignation. Labour has also asked why Coladangelo was subsequently given a pass through the office of Lord Bethell, a health minister who donated to Hancock’s leadership campaign. Guidance around the sponsoring of parliamentary passes states that they should only be awarded to those “requiring access to the parliamentary estate to undertake work”.

“The Conservatives need to explain what Matt Hancock was up to,” said Anneliese Dodds, the Labour chair. “Why was Gina Coladangelo granted the right to enter parliament unchecked when he launched his bid to become their leader? What work did she do for him in parliament? And why did Hancock’s chum Lord Bethell dish her out a pass to the Lords after her Commons one had expired? Access to parliament is a privilege. There cannot be one rule for the Conservatives and their friends and another for everyone else.”

Coladangelo was eventually appointed as a non-executive director of the Department for Health and Social Care in September 2020, though the process by which she was appointed is unclear. Department sources have said all the proper processes were followed. The government is facing demands to formalise the appointment process for “Neds”.

The committee on standards in public life and Peter Ridell, the commissioner for public appointments, have raised concerns about the transparency around appointments. A Ned’s work is partly to scrutinise the work of ministers, but the role has been used increasingly to appoint ministerial allies.

Sources close to Michael Gove reiterated that the cabinet office minister has not broken any Covid rules over his living arrangements after it emerged that he and his wife, the journalist Sarah Vine, were divorcing. A friend of the couple said the separation was “entirely amicable” and that no third party was involved.



Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
×