Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock will not accept a £16,000 severance payout after resigning in disgrace following explosive pictures of a passionate embrace with an aide, reports suggest.

The married politician, 42, is in line for a £16,876 payday – a quarter of his annual £67,505 ministerial salary – but Labour has said it would be ‘disgusting’ for him to receive it.

Ministers under 65 years old who leave their office – whether they are sacked or step down – are entitled to the large sum under the 1991 Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act.

But a report from the Daily Telegraph says Mr Hancock is ‘unlikely’ to accept the money – which critics were comparing to the 1% pay rise for NHS staff in England.

The Tory initially clung on to his job, releasing a statement apologising for breaking social distancing rules and asking for privacy for his family.

But he is said to have quit after being informed that 80 Conservative MPs – 25% – had complained to the whips’ office that he had not stepped down.

Sources close to the father-of-three have insisted he took time to ‘think it through’.

Boris Johnson was ‘forced to accept his resignation after Cabinet ministers warned they would not support him in public’.

No ministers spoke out in support of Mr Hancock after CCTV images of him kissing Gina Coladangelo in his ministerial office surfaced – despite the PM publicly backing him to stay.

A Cabinet source told the Daily Mail: ‘To be fair to the Prime Minister, his automatic reflex is to try to save people rather than throwing them to the wolves every time there’s a Twitter storm. But I think in this case it was obvious on Friday that this couldn’t end any other way. 

‘What’s p****d people off is Matt’s sheer hypocrisy. He’s set the rules and not followed them. He’s put his mistress on the payroll. 

‘And when Professor Ferguson was in a similar position, he tried to set the police on him.’

Mr Hancock and Mrs Coladangelo are said to be a ‘love match’ and ‘serious’ about their relationship.

He has left wife Martha and is expected to set up home with his new love interest, according to reports.

Concerns remain about when the ‘affair’ began as the timing could be a crucial component in any investigation over whether he broke the ministerial code.

Mrs Coladengelo was initially taken on as an unpaid advisor but was then made a non-executive director of the health department in September – which can come with a £15,000 allowance.

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