A PETITION to axe Matt Hancock from I’m A Celebrity has seen signatures double overnight.
A whopping 34,000 angry fans are now demanding ITV remove him from the line-up.
Pressure group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice launched the petition on November 1, after The Sun revealed the former Health Secretary had been signed up to appear.
He is being paid close to half a million pounds to take part in the ITV series – sparking fury among his critics.
Many are angry at the politician, who was in charge of dealing with the pandemic, being on an entertainment show while still an MP.
The petition says: "Matt Hancock isn't 'a celebrity' he's the health secretary who oversaw the UK having one of the highest death tolls in the world from Covid-19 whilst breaking his own lockdown rules.
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"The fact that he is trying to cash in on his terrible legacy, rather than showing some humility or seeking to reflect on the appalling consequences of his time in Government says it all about the sort of his person he is.
"Families were ripped apart by Matt Hancock’s actions, and turning on the TV to see him being paraded around as a joke is sickening.
"If he had any respect for families who lost loved ones to Covid-19, he would be sharing his private emails with the Covid Inquiry, not eating bugs on TV.
"Then again, perhaps if those emails came to light no TV station would touch him with a barge pole.
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"ITV should do the decent thing and remove him from the programme.
"Over 200,000 people lost their lives to Covid-19 across the UK."
The petition statement continues: "Matt Hancock was at the very centre of decisions such as locking down late, allowing large scale sporting events to go ahead as the virus ran rampant and failed to get our healthcare workers the PPE they needed."
Hancock had the Tory whip removed after revealing he was going into the jungle.
This means he will not be able to vote in Parliament as a Tory, but will remain a member of the party.
Hancock is now in quarantine on the Gold Coast ahead of the show launching on Sunday evening.
Ten celebrities will go into I'm A celeb when the new series starts but Matt, 44, will be one of two stars who'll join the camp later.
The other is comedian Seann Walsh, 36.
Westminster insiders say Tory MPs are plotting to vote for him to take on the Bushtucker trials.
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A spokesperson for Matt Hancock said: “Matt will be making a donation to St Nicholas Hospice in Suffolk and causes supporting dyslexia off the back of his appearance.
"He will also declare the amount he receives from the show to Parliament to ensure complete transparency, as normal.”
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