Leaked messages show Matt Hancock's reaction to CCTV footage of him kissing an aide
He resigned as Health Secretary the following day
Matt Hancock's reaction to leaked CCTV footage of him kissing an adviser in 2021 is contained in the latest leaked pandemic messages.
They are among the latest WhatsApp correspondence to emerge from the leak of more than 100,000 messages by journalist Isabel Oakeshott to the Daily Telegraph.
The latest to be published centre on the hours after Mr Hancock discovered leaked footage, showing him breaching social distancing guidance had emerged.
He resigned as health secretary the following day.
The messages, published by the Telegraph, show Mr Hancock discussing the guidance in place at the time and deciding what his initial response to media questions should be.
As he awaits publication, Mr Hancock asks a special adviser: "How bad are the pics?"
Told it's a "snog and heavy petting", he replies: "How did anyone photograph that?"
In his diaries, worked on with Ms Oakeshott and published last year, Mr Hancock said that he resigned as health secretary after colleagues failed to defend him publicly.
By his own account, he said that Boris Johnson had assured him he could carry on even though he and Ms Coladangelo had been pictured kissing in his office in breach of his own social-distancing guidelines.
But after the story broke, Mr Hancock said he found himself "increasingly isolated" politically and was left with no choice but to quit.
The messages show Mr Hancock and his advisers discussing among themselves and liaising with Number 10 about how to respond to the story, amid an unfolding political storm.
They also reveal that he asked his former mentor and ex-chancellor George Osborne for advice, as he prepared to resign.