Matt Hancock should not be reinstated as Tory MP, says party vice chair

Matt Hancock should not be reinstated as a Tory MP following his appearance on ITV's I'm A Celebrity show, a Conservative vice-chair has said.

Speaking to the BBC, Nickie Aiken said she didn't know what the ex-health secretary was planning to do next.

However, she added: "Having seen what he's done in the jungle, he's maybe thinking about not coming back after the next election."

Mr Hancock was suspended as a Tory MP after choosing to join the ITV show.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was "very disappointed by the move" but Mr Hancock defended the decision saying he wanted to "show what I am like as a person".

He has also vowed to donate part of his fee to charity.

The West Suffolk MP has now returned to the UK - his office says he has held a constituency surgery and is preparing for a parliamentary debate on his dyslexia bill on Friday.

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A source close to the MP has said he intends to stay in politics.

But there are question marks over whether he will be able to stand as a Conservative in the next general election.

The Conservative Party has asked all its MPs to confirm whether they intend to stand at the next election by 5 December.

Following his suspension, Mr Hancock will sit as an independent MP and is therefore currently unable to declare his interest in running again for the Conservatives.

The BBC has been told by a Conservative source that 5 December is not "a hard and fast deadline" so it is possible Mr Hancock could be readmitted to the party, and subsequently allowed to stand again.

Nadine Dorries was suspended from the Conservative Party in 2012 when she took part in the I'm A Celebrity programme, but had the whip restored after six months.

Mr Hancock could also choose to run in West Suffolk as an independent candidate.

'Sheer spunk'

Appearing on the BBC's Politics Live, Ms Aiken was asked if Mr Hancock should be let back into the Conservative Party.

"No," she replied.

Asked if Mr Hancock should run again as an MP she said: "We've all been asked to tell central office by Monday whether we want to stand again, and I don't know what Matt has decided to do.

"But I would suggest that, having seen what he's done in the jungle, he's maybe thinking about not coming back after the next general election."

Mr Hancock did receive support from Conservative MP Desmond Swayne, who said: "Given the sheer spunk of the contribution that Matt Hancock has made to television, it would be churlish not to restore the whip, wouldn't it?"

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats are proposing a motion that would prevent MPs from taking part in reality TV shows for weeks at a time while Parliament is in session, although it stands little chance of becoming law.

Lib Dem MP Christine Jardine said: "This Bushtucker Bill is designed to stop MPs following in Matt Hancock's shameful footsteps to the jungle."