Matt Hancock: Two houses searched after CCTV images of former health secretary embracing aide leaked

Computers from two homes have been seized

Two residential properties in the south of England have been searched by the Information Commissioner’s Office after CCTV images of Matt Hancock embracing an aide in his Whitehall office were leaked.

The organisation said personal computer equipment and electronic devices at the addresses were seized as part of its probe into alleged breaches of the Data Protection Act.

Steve Eckersley, director of investigations at the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), said: “It’s vital that all people, which includes the employees of government departments and members of the public who interact with them, have trust and confidence in the protection of their personal data.

“In these circumstances, the ICO aims to react swiftly and effectively to investigate where there is a risk that other people may have unlawfully obtained personal data.

“We have an ongoing investigation and will not be commenting further until it is concluded.”

The investigation was launched in response to CCTV images from Mr Hancock’s office being leaked to The Sun newspaper, which published them last month.

The images show the then health secretary checking that the corridor outside the office is clear before closing the door and embracing and kissing his taxpayer-funded adviser Gina Coladangelo.

The CCTV footage was reportedly filmed on 6 May, when England’s law banned indoor social gatherings of people from different households. Guidance also urged people to stay two metres apart and avoid “face to face contact”.

The public backlash over the scandal led to Mr Hancock standing down and being replaced by former chancellor Sajid Javid as health secretary.

The Metropolitan Police said that it has not launched a criminal investigation as “at this time, it remains a matter for the relevant government department”.

Marc Jones, the Conservative police crime commissioner (PCC) of Lincolnshire, said that there should be a police investigation launched into the leaking of the images if an offence had been committed.

The chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners also said at a press conference on Thursday: “Regardless of what motivated people to do a thing we are all subject to the same laws.”

Kim McGuinness, the Labour PCC of Northumbria, said: “It’s an interesting case and it is thorny, because the public interest is on that affair, but the fact is someone has breached security in what should be a secure place.”

The pair leaving Downing Street less than a week before the CCTV footage was filmed (Getty Images)

It has been reported that Mr Hancock and Ms Coladangelo have both left their family homes since their affair was exposed.

Mr Hancock has three children with his wife Martha, an oestopath. Ms Coladangelo has three children with her husband Oliver Tress, owner of high street retailer Oliver Bonas – where she had worked as the marketing and communications director.

Ms Coladangelo, previously a director at lobbying firm Luther Pendragon, had met the West Suffolk Conservative MP at Oxford University, where they became close friends over a shared passion for student radio.

In September last year, she was handed a £15,000-a-year role as non-executive director at the Department for Health and Social Care. There is no public record of the appointment, which was made during the Covid-19 pandemic, but it is listed on her LinkedIn page.

Mr Hancock has been accused of cronyism on a number of occasions over his personal links with businesses and individuals that were awarded NHS contracts during the pandemic.

Earlier this year, the High Court found Mr Hancock had acted unlawfully by awarding contracts to companies without tender and then not publishing their details.

Mr Hancock’s alleged use of a personal email account to conduct government business has raised transparency concerns.