The camera which captured Matt Hancock and Gina Coladangelo's affair has apparently been 'disabled'
Sajid Javid has only been in his post for about five minutes but he's already having to weigh in on the circumstances surrounding his predecessor's resignation.
Matt Hancock resigned as Health Secretary this past weekend following mass pressure from MPs and the public alike after he was filmed on CCTV blatantly breaking social distancing regulations with his personal aide,
Gina Coladaneglo.
The video evidence was apparently captured by a CCTV camera placed inside Hancock's office, however -
speaking to multiple outlets - his successor has said that not he has never been aware of such surveillance being in a minister's office.
Javid said: "I think for security it is just common sense; I don't think, as a general rule, there should be cameras in the secretary of state's office. I've never known that in the other five departments that I've run and I am not really sure why there was one here"
Now, we can talk about government conspiracies and
The Thick of It-style outings until the cows come home but the fact remains that a current and long-serving MP has stated that he has not come across this in any previous area of politics.
As he says, he has worked in five different departments and never has he known there to be CCTV in a minister's private office. Make of that what you will.
Javid confirmed that the camera in question has been deactivated, stating: "I haven't disabled the camera that you are talking about, but it has been disabled by the department.", adding that he is certain the finer details and explanation behind the whole incident will be investigated.
According to a cabinet source, it is said that this particular device was an 'outlier' (again, hardly subtle) but other MPs are now concerned that they may have similar surveillance in their private spaces.
Yesterday,
Justice Secretary Robert Buckland told Sky he had asked for his office to be swept for "unauthorised devices" following the recording and leaking of footage of Matt Hancock from within the Department of Health and Social Care.
"I've never seen any camera facilities. I know there is CCTV in the building for obvious security reasons, but I am sure that many of my colleagues will be asking the same question and making sure that the offices are swept just in case there are unauthorised devices in there that could be a national security breach."
It's almost like politicians are worried we'll find out what they've been getting up to behind closed doors. Hmm, curious.
