Former UK health minister draws fire for reality TV stint

LONDON (AP) — Former U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who led Britain's response to COVID-19 in the first year of the pandemic, was suspended by the Conservative Party on Tuesday after signing up to a reality TV show.

Hancock, who is no longer in government but remains a member of Parliament, is to compete on “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here.” The show sends a group of famous people, often C-list celebrities, to the Australian rainforest, subjects them to trials involving spiders and snakes, and allows the public to vote them out one by one.

Other contestants this year include Culture Club singer Boy George and former rugby player Mike Tindall, whose wife, Zara, is the niece of King Charles III.

Conservative Chief Whip Simon Hart called Hancock's participation in the program “a matter serious enough to warrant suspension of the whip with immediate effect.” That means Hancock will not be part of the Conservative caucus in Parliament but will sit as an independent.