Hancock was caught red-handed on Friday when the Sun published images taken from a CCTV camera of the minister – who is married with three children – snogging aide Gina Coladangelo. Hancock’s handsy encounter was in violation of his own coronavirus guidelines, which state that co-workers should remain two metres apart from each other, and earlier laws forbidding “casual” sexual encounters between non-cohabiting adults.

The minister apologised for breaking social distancing guidelines, stating that he was “very sorry” for letting the country down. Hancock’s apology was evidently enough for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Downing Street announced later on Friday that his apology was accepted and the “matter closed.”

Legions of Twitter commenters weren’t as forgiving as Johnson, especially as Hancock supported the resignation last year of Professor Neil Ferguson, who was caught breaching the lockdown restrictions he helped draft to meet his married lover.

The Labour Party led the charge against Hancock, calling out his double standards on Ferguson and demanding “he must go.”

Amid calls for Hancock’s sacking, some called for an investigation into his hiring of Coladangelo, a lobbyist and one-time unpaid adviser to the minister, to a taxpayer-funded position. Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner accused Hancock of breaking the Ministerial Code with this appointment.

As the fallout from Hancock’s ill-advised encounter continues, the minister cancelled a planned visit to a vaccine centre in his constituency of West Suffolk on Friday. “I remain focused on working to get the country out of this pandemic, and would be grateful for privacy for my family on this personal matter,” his statement of apology read. Coladangelo likely faces a rocky time at home too, where she is married to multi-millionaire fashion tycoon Oliver Tress.