Hancock, 42, on Saturday sent a letter to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in which he confirmed his resignation, Reuters reported. In a short video posted on Twitter Hancock confirmed that she had met and conveyed her resignation to Jonson.

– I understand the great sacrifices that everyone in this country has made, as you have done, said Hancock, and added:

– Those of us who have made this rule have to follow it and that’s the reason I resigned.

In a letter to Johnson, he also apologized to his family and loved ones.

“The last thing I want is for my personal life to distract from the focus of getting us out of this crisis,” said the former Health Minister.

Kiss videos

Pressure on Johnson to fire Hancock has been mounting over the past 24 hours.

The Health Minister who is married to another woman has admitted and regretted that he violated social distancing guidelines during a meeting with his adviser Gina Coladangelo in May.

Tabloidavisa Sun published on Friday a video showing the two hugging and kissing each other in the UK Ministry of Health building.

The footage appears to be from a surveillance video, and is said to have been relayed by what The Sun described as a “whistleblower”.

– I understand that I violated social distancing guidelines in this situation. “I’ve let people down, and I’m very sorry for that,” Hancock said when the video became known.

Hancock has been one of the most prominent voices in Britain’s fight against the coronavirus. He has repeatedly called on the UK to follow social distancing rules during the pandemic.

Boris Johnson said Saturday he regretted Hancock stepping down, and he should be “very proud” of his work during the pandemic.

“Hypocritical”

Some experts believe the video shows a social distancing offense large enough to be classified as a crime. In May, Britons were not allowed to have contact with people outside their own homes.

Early Saturday, Boris Johnson stated that Hancocks’ apology had closed the case on his side.

However, many pundits and commentators in the British media disagree with this view. Some described Hancock’s behavior as “hypocritical”, according to Reuters.

It also stated that he also supported the departure of epidemiologist Neil Ferguson. The backdrop was British media revealing that Ferguson had been visited by a woman during the country’s lockdown.

Hancock described the incident as “sensational”, stating that it was right for Ferguson to resign, according to BBC.

Hancock is a member of the Conservative Party in England. The Sun wrote that Hancock had known Coladangelo, who is also married, since they studied together 20 years ago. The British tabloid newspaper also stated that the adviser was hired on a contract basis, for taxpayers’ money.

Votes in the opposition Labor Party are now demanding Boris Johnson explain the circumstances surrounding the appointment.