Emotional Kate Garraway grills Matt Hancock on Good Morning Britain

2023-01-31

‘I couldn’t visit Derek in hospital, he couldn’t see his kids’: Emotional Kate Garraway grills Matt Hancock over why ex-Health Secretary went on I’m A Celebrity before answering to Covid inquiry in TV bust-up

Kate clashed with Matt Hancock who spent an hour on Good Morning Britain
Husband Derek Draper is one of the UK’s longest-suffering coronavirus patients
She told Mr Hancock: ‘The problem is you were the Health Secretary. Thousands of children couldn’t see people that they loved’

Kate Garraway became overwhelmed today as she confronted former Health Secretary Matt Hancock over his handling of the pandemic and his decision to go on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here.

Her husband Derek Draper, 55, fought for his life after contracting coronavirus in March 2020. He became the longest suffering coronavirus patient in the UK, after spending 13 months in hospital, and remains very ill.

His broadcaster wife, 55, blinked away tears as she told Mr Hancock that millions of Britons still feel very ‘raw’ about the pandemic and repeated lockdown, declaring: ‘At the time it mattered I couldn’t visit Derek in hospital, he couldn’t see his kids. The rules were very muddled for us out here’.

Mr Hancock was eventually forced to resign in June 2021 when it was revealed he was caught flouting his own social distancing guidance by kissing Gina Coladangelo – who he hired with taxpayers’ money.

Describing public anger towards him, Kate added of his decision to appear on I’m a Celebrity: ‘This gives the impression you still don’t get why they are cross. You still don’t get why people are upset. They want to hold you to more account’.

Kate Garraway becomes tearful as she grilled Matt Hancock on the pandemic on GMB today

Ms Garraway said Mr Hancock gave the impression that he didn’t understand why people are so cross with him

Confronting the former minister, she told him: ‘The rules were very muddled for us out here’

Mr Hancock was appearing on Good Morning Britain this morning.

Ms Garraway asked him if he understood the anger that people felt towards him, especially those separated by loved ones who were in hospital.

She became tearful and looked up as she spoke about Derek, who has been so unwell ever since he got covid.

‘I suppose the problem is you were the Health Secretary. Thousands of children couldn’t see people that they loved’, she said of visiting restrictions in the NHS for so long under his stewardship.

Mr Hancock earlier insisted he did not go on I’m A Celebrity for the money as he insisted the 3% of his £320,000 fee he donated to charity was substantial.

Susanna Reid asked him: ‘Are you telling the truth when you say that it [money] wasn’t your primary motivation?’

The former health secretary replied: ‘Absolutely. I did give some of the money to charity.

‘I didn’t primarily do it (go on the reality show) for the money, I primarily did it to try to show who I am.’

Mr Hancock insisted his £10,000 donation was a ‘decent sum’ and was ‘more than my MPs salary’.

He did concede that ‘of course there was a discussion and negotiation over the fee’.

Kate was very angry on behalf of all the families who struggled to be with sick loved ones

Derek is one of the UK’s longest-suffering patients of Covid after being admitted to hospital with the virus in March 2020, only returning to the family’s London home in April 2021, where he receives round-the-clock care

Kate Garraway clashed with Labour frontbencher Emily Thornberry today over the treatment of her husband Derek Draper in a private hospital during his fraught battle with coronavirus

Mr Hancock confirmed he still received his MP salary while in the jungle, but said his donations were larger than that sum, which is around £7,000 per month.

Emotional Kate Garraway breaks down as she discusses husband Derek Draper’s ‘long battle to get home’

The West Suffolk MP, who lost the Tory whip over the appearance, did concede that “of course there was a discussion and negotiation over the fee”.

But he insisted that he “certainly would have considered” doing the programme for £10 and denied negotiations soared after he turned down initial offers.

During the show, Mr Hancock came in third place behind actor Owen Warner and England professional footballer Jill Scott.

Records on the MPs’ register of interests showed Mr Hancock received £320,000 from Lifted Entertainment, ITV Studios, for the work which he listed as lasting for 30 days.

Mr Hancock’s I’m a Celebrity… appearance was criticised by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and other top Tories, as well as mocked by some fellow MPs.

More than 1,000 complaints were made to broadcasting watchdog Ofcom over his participation.

Earlier this month Kate Garraway clashed with Labour frontbencher Emily Thornberry today over the treatment of her husband Derek Draper in a private hospital during his fraught battle with coronavirus.

The Good Morning Britain presenter challenged the Shadow Attorney General over Sir Keir Starmer’s radical plan to tackle the enormous backlog by outsourcing to private hospitals.

Asked whether the policy amounted to privatisation, Ms Thornberry insisted: ‘It’s not. If you’re waiting six months to get your hip replaced and there aren’t enough beds in a National Health Service hospital and there are some beds in a private hospital, we’re saying the NHS will pay for surplus capacity in the private hospitals to get the waiting list down. It’s just completely pragmatic politics’.

In response, Ms Garraway said: ‘I know from personal experience because when Derek was first sick and he had to be moved to hospital, there were no spaces on any wards for him to go for the treatment he needed. And so at that time, effectively everything was nationalised.

‘But after a while, the private hospitals said that they couldn’t make it pay and therefore it came to an end, it reverted back. And so that seemed like a sensible way to go.’

Ms Garraway then asked: ‘What is the argument against that?’ – and was met with stony-faced silence from the Labour frontbencher, before continuing: ‘I’d have said the argument against that was people with private insurance wouldn’t be able to jump queues.

‘If you’re going to pay for some people who need to go to private hospitals, what about doing it for everybody?’

Ms Thornberry then responded: ‘My priority is the National Health Service.’

Last month, an emotional Ms Garraway broke down as she discussed husband Derek’s health battle.

The Good Morning host admitted that there ‘is no end point’ to his care and her new way of life can be ‘exhausting’ for those around her.

She told host Lorraine Kelly: ‘The thing is, when it’s a long battle like with Derek, there’s no end point and it can be exhausting for the people around me too. I know sometimes people say “oh she’s talking about that again” but what I’ve learnt is you only really know what it feels like when you’re in it.

‘And now I get contacted by thousands and thousands of people who make me feel less alone.’

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