Watch: Hancock’s social distancing slip up

Oh dear. It seems Matt Hancock has forgotten his own rules. Shortly before PMQs this afternoon, the Health Secretary was spotted slapping a chum on the back in a blatant breach of the two-metre distancing regulations. 

Less than a minute later, Hancock again disregarded his ministry’s own guidance when he leaned in to have a chat with another MP. Perhaps Hancock could use the Ferguson defence and plead immunity given the fact he has already had the virus. Then again, that didn’t end too well for professor lockdown…

UPDATE Hancock has now released a statement apologising for the breach, saying: 

I’m so sorry for a human mistake on my part. Like all of us, I instinctively wanted to reach out to a friend I’d just seen – in this case, for the first time in many weeks. I realised my mistake and corrected myself. It shows how hard social distancing can be but it is so important that we all keep trying to do our bit.