Karin Smyth, MP for Bristol South, said:
“The resignation of the Health Secretary is not the end of the matter. Serious questions remain on contracts awarded by the minister, the use of private personal emails to discuss government business, and how much other Cabinet members knew about the Health Secretary’s actions.
“As a former NHS employee, and current member of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, I have serious concerns with the reckless way in which the Prime Minister and Mr Hancock have upheld standards in public life. Our NHS employees hold themselves to the highest standards imaginable and this current government continues to ignore the Nolan principles of public life.
“Behaviour in government comes from the top and all we have seen from the Prime Minister is someone who doesn’t believe the rules apply to him, whilst we all do our bit and follow them to the letter.
“I hope the new Health Secretary takes the time to review the Health Bill, particularly the lack of accountability to local people for changes to how services are managed locally. All his focus must be on taking immediate action to start clearing waiting list backlogs and improving access to local GPs. Not to mention securing support in the community to stop health problems getting worse.”