Controversy has not been far from West Suffolk MP Matt Hancock in recent years.

After first being elected as an MP in 2010 Mr Hancock has played pivotal roles in the Conservative government. 

He was first given the role as Paymaster General in 2015 which he held until 2016. 

Mr Hancock was Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from January to July 2018

After this role he was made Secretary of State for Health and Social Care until 2021. 

In 2019 Mr Hancock entered the race to become the Prime Minister after Therese May announced her resignation. 

He was defeated by Boris Johnson. 

PPE Contracts 

On February 19 2021, a High Court Judge ruled that Mr Hancock had acted unlawfully be handing out PPE contracts without publishing details in a timely way. 

Coranvirus pandemic 

Although the government acted quickly with the roll out of the Covid-19 vaccination Mr Hancock received criticism during the early days of the pandemic. 

In May 2021 Dominic Cummings, the former Downing Street chief adviser claimed "tens of thousands of people died who didn't need to die" during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

Afair with Gina Coladangelo 

On June 25 last year news of Mr Hancock's affiar with his close aide Gina Coladangelo broke out. 

The West Suffolk MP faced calls to resign following the claims. 

Pictures showed the married 42-year-old in a passionate clinch kissing 43-year-old Coladangelo. 

The report claims the pictures were captured on a camera at his Whitehall office in early May.

It wasn't until May 17 that hugging was allowed outside people's own households and support bubbles.

Hancock resigns as health secretary 

The next day on June 26 he announced his resignation as health secretary. 

Mr Hancock accepted that he had broken Covid rules and said he had "let people down".

He confirmed in a video posted on Twitter that he had stepped down from his cabinet position after writing to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

In his letter of resignation, Mr Hancock said: "The last thing I would want is for my private life to distract attention from the single-minded focus that is leading us out of this crisis."

Pandemic Diaries

In April 2022 it was announced that Mr Hancock would publish his diaries during the coronavirus pandemic. 

The book was released on December 6. 

Appearance on I'm A Celeb 

In November the West Suffolk MP announced he would appearing on the hit ITV show I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here in Australia, some 10,000 miles away from his constituency. 

He was a surprise addition to the camp with friends saying he would use his appearance to promote his work on dyslexia but he was stripped of the Conservative whip. 

During the show he faces his fair share of trials and was even made the first camp leader of the series. 

The former health secretary made it to the final three alongside Jill Scott and Owen Warner, having lasted longer than stars such as Chris Moyles, Boy George and Seann Walsh.

He received heavy criticism from his constituents for appearing on the show. 

Announcing he will not be standing at the next General Election 

In a statement to the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on December 7, Mr Hancock announced he will not be standing as a Conservative MP at the next General Election. 

His letter said: "I am writing to tell you that I do not intend to stand for the Conservative at the next General Election. 

“It has been an honour to serve in Parliament and represent the people of West Suffolk.

"I am very proud of what we achieved, including the establishment of three Free Schools, dualling of the A11, supporting the horseracing industry, and expanding Newmarket Hospital."