Matt Hancock defends tiny amount he donated to charity from £320k I’m a Celeb pay packet and insists ‘I’m really proud’
MATT Hancock has defended the tiny amount he gave to charity from his I’m a Celeb pay packet and insisted he’s “really proud”.
Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, the former Health Secretary revealed that he had donated £10,000 from a whopping £330,000 in earnings.
Hancock, who appeared on the programme while still serving as a sitting MP for West Suffolk, previously claimed he was entering the jungle to raise awareness around dyslexia.
When quizzed on the eye-watering amount, Hancock repeatedly insisted that money wasn’t his primary motivation for going on the show.
The 44-year-old has claimed that the pay cheque was not what helped him decide to go onto the show, instead insisting that he thought “long and hard” having initially declined an offer from ITV.
He said: “Money wasn’t a primary consideration to go on the show.
“ITV asked me to come on and offered me a fee but my primary motivation was to communicate with people about who I am as a person
“I was a politician at a difficult time with a lot going on for the country
“It’s ok to be held to account but it means one part of my personality came over, I had to go all the way to Australia just to show who I really was.
And the MP said that he was proud of what he had done for charity, in particular raising awareness for dyslexia.
Hancock added: “I ended up a very public figure and I felt what the public knew about me was through a very specific lens.
“I think there’s lots of ways to communicate to the public and as a politician is just one.
“I’m really proud of the money I raised for charity before and I’ll do lots in future.”
“Raising awareness of dyslexia really matters to me.”
When pressed on whether he could have given more of his earnings away, Hancock replied: “”I think £10,000 is still a decent amount.”
Later on the show Kate Garraway appeared close to tears as she grilled the MP over flaunting lockdown guidelines.
The understandably-emotional Good Morning Britain host called out the I’m A Celebrity star for his actions and flagged how her husband Derek Draper was left fighting for his life after contracting covid in 2020.
She told viewers how she had repeated contact with the Sussex politician during the pandemic, and supported some of the additional measures Matt had called for.
Despite initial backlash after entering the ITV programme, Hancock managed to sail through to the final.
He finished third – losing out to Lioness Jill Scott and Hollyoaks actor Owen Warner in November.
He was subjected to numerous disgusting tasks while taking part, including being made to eat a camel’s penis and being covered in creepy crawlies.
