What questions remain for the Government following the Matt Hancock affair?
The Prime Minister has been dogged by questions in the wake of the resignation of his health secretary.
Matt Hancock resigned as health secretary after he was caught kissing an aide in his ministerial office, but the MP’s actions continue to come under scrutiny.
Here, we look at what questions remain for the Government and Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
– Will Mr Hancock take his severance pay?
Under current rules, ministers under the age of 65 who leave their office are entitled to a quarter of their annual salary, regardless of whether they quit or are sacked.
Labour said it would push for Mr Hancock to be stripped of the pay he is entitled to.
However, it has been reported that Mr Hancock will not take the payout, which would be around £16,876 – a quarter of the £67,505 cabinet minister salary.
– In what circumstances was Gina Coladangelo hired?
The long-term friend of Mr Hancock was brought into the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) initially as an unpaid adviser before getting the £15,000-a-year role of non-executive director in September.
However, it is currently not known if their romantic relationship began before or after she was appointed to the department, or if this was ever declared as a conflict of interest.
Labour has called for documents relating to the recruitment of the aide to be released, but Justice Secretary Robert Buckland has insisted “due process” was followed.
It has been reported that Ms Coladangelo would also be leaving her role at the DHSC, following Mr Hancock’s resignation.
– How was the CCTV footage leaked?
The Government will be launching an internal investigation into how the CCTV footage of Mr Hancock was obtained by The Sun.
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said the DHSC will seek to find out how the footage became public, as former cabinet ministers have said they never had cameras in their offices.
Tory MP Peter Bone has been granted an urgent question in the Commons on Monday about the security arrangements in ministerial offices amid concerns that sensitive meetings and conversations may be monitored.
– Have rules on emails been broken?
The former health secretary has been accused of using a private Gmail account to conduct Government business as he continues to face scrutiny over his actions.
Since March of last year, Mr Hancock often used a private account to conduct Government business rather than an official Government email address, according to the Sunday Times.
The DHSC insisted that all ministers conduct their Government business through departmental email addresses amid calls for an investigation from Labour.
