<h2 class=" eplus-wrapper" id="crosshead">Celebrity negativity</h2>

Yesterday's front pages made uncomfortable reading for Matt Hancock. "King of the bungle," was the headline in Metro. "The man with no shame," trumpeted the Daily Mirror. "Suspended! Fury over Hancock joining I'm a Celeb," declared the Daily Express. And those were nothing compared to the montagePiecing together different images. in the Daily Star.

The paper put Hancock's face - plus a red nose - on a bug surrounded by thick foliage. "Creepy crawly coco," ran the headline, followed by "you've gotta feel sorry for the bugs".

"A group of cockroaches, rats, maggots and snakes has sent a desperate letter to ITV," imagined Allison Pearson in the Daily Telegraph. "We the undersigned consider it cruel and unnatural to take part in a bushtucker trialChallenges I'm a Celebrity contestants must complete to gain food treats. or any other jungle challenge with British MP Matt Hancock... Mr Hancock is slimy, unpalatableUnpleasant or difficult to accept. and we cannot be expected to swallow him in the name of entertainment."

It is not Hancock's first time hitting the headlines. Last year, he was forced to resign when The Sun revealed he had broken social-distancing rules while having an affair with one of his advisers. People whose friends and relatives had died alone in hospital following strict lockdown rules were particularly aggrievedFeeling resentful for being treated unfairly. .

According to the campaign group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, "Matt Hancock isn't a 'celebrity', he's the former health secretary who oversaw the UK having one of the highest death tolls in the world from Covid-19 whilst breaking his own lockdown rules."¹

The group called his decision "sickening" and demanded that he be removed from the programme.

Others are outraged by his decision to travel to Australia for a reality TV show while parliament is sitting. MPs are elected to represent the views of people across Britain in Westminster, and most hold meetings every week to listen to the concerns of their constituentsThe people living in a particular area an MP represents. . Hancock has now been suspended by the Conservative Party, though he continues to be an MP.

But Hancock has defended himself in an article for The Sun. Far from shirking his responsibilities, he argues, his appearance will actually help him fulfil his duties.

"I think it's a great opportunity to talk directly to people who aren't always interested in politics," he writes. "It's our job as politicians to go to where the people are - not to sit in ivory towersA phrase meaning to live a privileged life far removed from the concerns of ordinary people. in Westminster... We must wake up and embrace popular culture."

He says he hopes to draw attention to a campaign he is running to help children with dyslexiaA common learning difficulty involving reading, writing and spelling. - "even if it means taking an unusual route to get there". He also says that he plans to give part of his fee to charity.

Hancock is not the first MP to appear on I'm a Celebrity. In 2012, Nadine DorriesA British Conservative politician. was temporarily suspended by the Conservatives for taking part. And the former leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Kezia Dugdale, was a contestant in 2017.

Yes: Hancock is only famous because he was health minister during the pandemic. It is outrageous for him to use that platform to make money. And anyway, he should be representing the people of West Suffolk.

No: Hancock is right to say that the show is a chance to connect with people who do not normally listen to politicians. If he can get his message about dyslexia across, that will be a great achievement.

Or... Hancock's decision is not as bad as that of another contestant, Mike Tindall. He is married to King Charles's niece Zara Phillips, and will cause Britain's royal family huge embarrassment by taking part.

Montage - Piecing together different images.

Bushtucker trial - Challenges I'm a Celebrity contestants must complete to gain food treats.

Unpalatable - Unpleasant or difficult to accept.

Aggrieved - Feeling resentful for being treated unfairly.

Constituents - The people living in a particular area an MP represents.

Ivory towers - A phrase meaning to live a privileged life far removed from the concerns of ordinary people.

Dyslexia - A common learning difficulty involving reading, writing and spelling.

Nadine Dorries - A British Conservative politician.