Hancock's I'm A Celeb stint 'took courage' says former PM
Former prime minister Tony Blair has offered some support to former health secretary Matt Hancock as he returns from the I'm A Celebrity jungle, suggesting that the unorthodox move "took courage".
The Tory MP is returning to face angry colleagues, constituents and questions about his political future in Westminster after coming third in the ITV show.
The West Suffolk MP surpassed the expectations of many by reaching the final but came behind the winner, Euro 2022 champion Jill Scott, and Hollyoaks actor Owen Warner in a public vote on Sunday night.
His 21 days in the Australian jungle have seen him suspended from the Conservative parliamentary party and criticised by colleagues including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
But Sir Tony, who said that he had not been watching the popular TV show, had some supportive words for the former Cabinet minister.
"When you've been through the wringer as he has, and you know, as a politician who's got to a certain level in politics, he's probably got quite a lot of courage to go and do something like that.
"And I mean, people can attack him or whatever. But I always say this to (former Labour frontbencher) Ed Balls, who reinvented himself in this extraordinary way after leaving politics, and literally this is the most surprising thing I ever came across in terms of a post ministerial career.
"But, you know, it takes a lot of courage to go do something like that. I wished him well, from the outset. I worked with him a bit during the pandemic. And, you know, he was working hard, they were all working hard on it."
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