Charity benefits as public sees chance to rip the **** out of Hancock

Hospice enriched to the tune of £2.7k so far as people chip in for the chance to have their say to former Health Secretary

Matt Hancock has given the UK public a chance to have their say directly on a page he has created himself – and the public has grasped the opportunity with both hands, with a hospice charity the happy beneficiary.

Whether out of altruism or in hope of redeeming his image, Hancock has set up a JustGiving page for his run in October’s London marathon, to raise money for the St Nicholas hospice – but left the page’s comments feature open. Realising that for a small donation they can have some fun and register their feelings about the former health secretary many consider the worst in history (though no doubt his successor Sajid Javid intends to take that title), around 250 people at the time of writing have posted comments, while the charity benefits.

While few have been simple donations, most have either shredded the Tory MP with serious commentary on his performance and conduct, or have used humour to make it clear what they think of him, the reasons for his resignation – and in some case his former front-bench colleagues, too. Here’s a flavour:

Given Hancock’s performance as Health Secretary, it’s perhaps not surprising that he set himself up for a roasting, but at least a charity is benefitting. If you want to enjoy the comments and chip in to have your own say, you can do so here – but be aware that the platform might switch off the comments, so be quick and do remember to take a screenshot, to make sure the Tories can’t later claim the fund grew because of his popularity!

Update: looks like the humour has been a victim of its own success. JustGiving appears to have removed all but the few positive comments and set those donations to ‘Anonymous’, even though that is no doubt bad for the charity. Spoilsports! But it was fun while it lasted.

Update 2: one reader was screen-recording the comments just as JustGiving started to delete them, but captured a few more pearls for posterity before they all disappeared:

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