Matt Hancock is to appear on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here as a contestant.
Britain’s former Health Secretary is still MP for West Suffolk and has also been stripped of the Tory whip.
“Following a conversation with Matt Hancock, I have considered the situation and believe this is a matter serious enough to warrant suspension of the whip with immediate effect,” Tory Chief Whip Simon Hart told the Guardian.
Mr Hancock resigned as a minister last year after footage emerged of him kissing a woman - who was not his wife - while COVID restrictions were still in place.
"The last thing I would want is for my private life to distract attention from the single-minded focus that is leading us out of this crisis," Mr Hancock said in his resignation letter.
"I want to reiterate my apology for breaking the guidance, and apologise to my family and loved ones for putting them through this."
Matt Hancock. Issue date: Sunday June 27, 2021.Mr Hancock is not the first British politician to head Down Under to compete in I'm A Celebrity; Nadine Dorries was stripped of the whip in 2012 for appearing on the show - although it was later restored.
In 2017, former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale was given a written warning by her colleagues for taking part.
However, no politician has done as well as Carol Thatcher, daughter of Margaret, who won the contest in 2005.
Main image: Matt Hancock. Picture by: PA.
