Matt Hancock gets stung by a scorpion on I’m A Celebrity

Published

2 years ago

November 14, 2022

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Matt Hancock has said being voted leader of the I’m A Celebrity campsite “more than makes up for” losing to Boris Johnson in the 2019 Tory party leadership election.

The MP, 44, was among those who threw their hat into the ring to replace Theresa May in Number 10, but withdrew part way through the contest before putting his support behind Mr Johnson.

In Sunday’s episode of I’m A Celeb, Mr Hancock received enough votes from the public to enter a head-to-head with former England rugby star Mike Tindall for control of the campsite.

The former health secretary recruited ITV broadcaster Charlene White, who he has previously clashed with over his breaking of COVID-19 guidance during the pandemic, and they were triumphant in a challenge during which they had to work together to switch on a series of lights.

Before the task, Tindall joked: “If I went home, and I’d lost to Matt Hancock, I’d be in so much s**t.”

Hancock then told White: “We are definitely the underdogs”, before she replied: “Did you go into the leadership challenge thinking you were the underdog?”

Dictatorship?

After their win, Hancock declared: “Obviously, it’s a great honour and privilege to be camp leader. I want to thank everybody who voted for me.”

White asked: “Does this win feel sweet, especially after you lost to Boris? Do you feel like you have been vindicated?”, to which he replied: “This more than makes up for it.”

However, their success prompted soap star Sue Cleaver, Tindall’s would-be deputy, to remark: “We now have a dictatorship…”

Hancock and White were then charged with assigning their campmates to chores while remaining exempt and getting the chance to sleep inside the RV – a step up from the campsite.

Earlier in the episode, Hancock was stung by a scorpion which “unexpectedly” nipped him on the finger. He later told his fellow contestants: “It was so painful… It hurts a lot, and I’m feeling slightly dizzy.”

He was seen by a medic straight away, with TV presenter and property expert Scarlette Douglas later joking in the Bush Telegraph: “He looked like he wanted to cry.”

Snakes and offal

Hancock was voted to become leader of the campsite after facing his fifth consecutive trial, House of Horrors, in which he had to crawl through a giant doll’s house full of pigeons, snakes and troughs full of offal, searching for stars to feed the camp.

Asked by co-host Declan Donnelly why he thought the public kept voting for him to take part in the gruelling trials, Hancock responded: “It must be the facial expressions.”

Facing his fear of snakes, the Tory MP located nine of the 11 stars on offer, despite a snake attempting to strike him at eye level.

After returning triumphant to camp, he admitted: “I was absolutely sh***ing myself.”

Also in the episode, former England footballer Jill Scott recalled playing football aged five and how her grandmother had predicted her success.

Attwood’s blood test

Former Love Island contestant Olivia Attwood revealed she was forced to withdraw from the show after a routine blood test showed she was anaemic.

The test, which all the contestants undergo randomly throughout the show, also suggested low sodium and potassium levels, prompting staff to immediately take her to hospital.

Attwood, 31, disclosed the reason for her departure after only 24 hours in the Australian jungle in an interview with the Mail On Sunday.

However, she also said her tests at the hospital and back in the UK produced normal results.

A show spokesman said: “As a precautionary measure, Olivia needed to leave the jungle to undergo some medical checks.

“Unfortunately, the medical team has advised it is not safe for Olivia to return to camp as there needs to be further investigation.

“She has been absolutely brilliant, and she’ll be very much missed on the show.”

UK

Starmer to be first UK PM to mark Armistice Day in France since Churchill

Published

45 mins ago

November 11, 2024

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Starmer to be first UK PM to mark Armistice Day in France since Churchill

Sir Keir Starmer will attend Armistice Day commemorations in France on Monday – the first UK leader to do so since Winston Churchill in the Second World War.

Towns and cities across France will mark the 106th anniversary of the Armistice agreement in 1918 that brought fighting in the First World War to an end.

Sir Keir will attend the events at the personal invitation of President Emmanuel Macron and the pair will join British and French veterans and the public in paying tribute to the fallen.

It comes as the prime minister announces more than £10m to mark the 80th anniversaries of VE and VJ Day in the UK next year.

Sir Keir is expected to lay a wreath at Paris war memorials close to the Champ-Elysees, and also at the Arc de Triomphe’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a national symbol for all those who have died for France in war.

The prime minister said: “I am honoured to be in Paris to stand united with President Macron in tribute to the fallen of the First World War who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom we enjoy today.

“These events are vital in ensuring the memory of millions of young soldiers, sailors, and aviators live on for generations to come.”

Sir Keir and President Macron will also have talks ahead of the commemorations to discuss issues like the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

On Sunday, Remembrance events were held across the UK as the nation paid tribute to those who have served in the armed forces past and present.

King Charles, who is still receiving cancer treatment, paid his respects without the Queen, who did not attend events in central London due to a chest infection.

He appeared alongside his son Prince William and daughter-in-law, the Princess of Wales, who carried out two consecutive public engagements for the first time this year after her cancer treatment ended.

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Remembrance Sunday commemorations in pictures – as King leads event at Cenotaph in Whitehall

Published

15 hours ago

November 10, 2024

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Remembrance Sunday commemorations in pictures - as King leads event at Cenotaph in Whitehall

The King led the nation’s Remembrance Sunday commemorations as he laid a wreath at the Cenotaph during a two-minute silence.

Charles, who is still receiving cancer treatment, paid his respects without the Queen, who did not attend events in central London due to a chest infection.

He appeared alongside his son Prince William and daughter-in-law, Kate, Princess of Wales, who carried out two consecutive public engagements for the first time this year after her cancer treatment ended.

Sunday was the King’s third Remembrance service as monarch.

The Royal British Legion’s veteran parade along Whitehall featured 10,000 veterans from 326 different armed forces and civil organisations.

Similar memorial events took place in Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast, as well as smaller towns and cities.

Politicians from the four nations laid wreaths in capital cities, while veterans and their families also gathered for events in Portsmouth, the home of this year’s D-Day anniversary commemorations, and the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

Thousand of people, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and eight of his predecessors, watched as the nation fell silent at 11am.

Among the former leaders were Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Theresa May, Lord David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Sir Tony Blair, and Sir John Major.

Kemi Badenoch, the new Conservative Party leader, also laid a wreath alongside the prime minister.

On Saturday evening, the Prince and Princess of Wales attended the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall, along with the King.

Hours beforehand, Buckingham Palace announced Queen Camilla would not be attending either of the Remembrance events. It is understood there is no cause for concern but that doctors did not want to hinder her recovery or put anyone else at risk.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings of the Second World War and the 25th anniversary of the end of the war in Kosovo.

It also marks the 75th anniversary of NATO and the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale between the UK and France.

UK

UK is ready to fight a war but will need to be stronger in future, head of armed forces warns

Published

16 hours ago

November 10, 2024

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UK is ready to fight a war but will need to be stronger in future, head of armed forces warns

The UK is ready to fight a war, the head of the armed forces has insisted, after the defence secretary recently suggested the military is not prepared for a conflict.

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin also stressed the importance of continuing to back Ukraine when asked about the potential impact of the re-election of Donald Trump on Russia’s war.

He said more than 1,500 Russian troops had been killed or injured in the warzone every day during October. That equates to more than 46,000 people – equivalent to more than half of the British Army.

The Chief of the Defence Staff used the Russian casualty figure to underline the cost to Vladimir Putin of his invasion, but analysts say the Kremlin has proven itself more than capable of absorbing high attrition rates without changing its war aims.

Admiral Radakin was speaking in an interview on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips to mark Remembrance Sunday.

Asked if the UK could fight a war at scale, he said: “Absolutely. So our servicemen and women will always be ready to serve their nation and to do as the government of the day directs us to do.”

Last month, however, John Healey, the new Labour defence secretary, told a Politico podcast that the armed forces were not ready to fight after being hollowed out and under-funded during 14 years of Conservative rule.

In reality, the hollowing out and under-funding also took place under the previous Labour government.

Pressed by Trevor Phillips on whether the army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force had the capabilities to fight a war, Admiral Radakin said: “We do have the capabilities. And then the reassurance is that we do that alongside our allies.

“And for those biggest fights, then we will always do them with our allies.”

He conceded, though, that the UK needs to be “even stronger in the future”.

Admiral Radakin added: “Some of that is about having deeper stockpiles. Some of that is being better at bringing technology and learning the lessons from Ukraine… And some of that is also recognising that you need to have a defence industry that can better support those demands.

“We’re in a more dangerous world.”

The top commander repeatedly stressed the importance of being part of NATO to be able to counter the biggest threats faced by the UK.

But the re-election of Donald Trump to the White House has raised new concerns about US support for the transatlantic alliance. The United States is by far its most powerful member.

The president-elect threatened to quit NATO when he was US commander-in-chief the first time around, and he has repeatedly berated member states that do not meet a minimum spending commitment of 2% of national income.

Mr Trump is also expected to take a different approach to the war in Ukraine to Joe Biden, saying he will end the fighting – but without yet explaining how.

Trevor Phillips asked Admiral Radakin how confident he was that the United States would continue to stand “shoulder to shoulder” with Ukraine.

The defence chief declined to speculate on potential US policy so soon after the election.

Instead, he said: “What you’re seeing is a Russia that is making tactical gains and is seizing more territory, but is doing that at enormous cost, enormous cost in terms of its soldiers – over 1,500 people a day are either killed or wounded in October.”