Matt Hancock credits UK staycation for tanned complexion: 'You can't beat a holiday in Cornwall'

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has praised his staycation to Cornwall for his tanned complexion this summer
SkyNews
Rebecca Speare-Cole27 August 2020

Matt Hancock has credited his staycation in Cornwall for giving him a tanned complexion.

The Health Secretary hailed his trip to the county - which has seen a boom in tourists this summer as a result of the coronavirus pandemic - as "glorious".

Asked on LBC radio this morning where he got his tan, Mr Hancock replied: “Cornwall.”

He added: “You can’t beat a holiday in Cornwall. I went surfing in Cornwall.

Porthcurno in Cornwall. Matt Hancock praised his staycation
Unsplash

“It was absolutely fantastic, glorious – holiday at home, you can’t beat Cornwall in the summer.”

He continued: “I’ve had one week of holiday this year; I think everybody deserves a break.”

It comes as quarantine restrictions remain in place for people returning to the UK from a number of countries.

Those coming into the country from countries such as Spain, France, the US and Croatia must self-isolate for 14 days.

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Mr Hancock is among several Cabinet members to have taken a holiday in the UK this summer.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently took a trip to Scotland with his fiance Carrie Symonds and their baby son Wilfred.

But Transport Secretary Grant Shapps had to cut his trip to Spain short and self-isolate after quarantine measures on the country were imposed while he was still abroad.

Also during his LBC interview, Mr Hancock rubbished a report claiming that the NHS has a “hidden waiting list” of 15.3 million patients who need follow-up appointments for health problems following the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said: “I’ve looked into this research since it arrived in the Times overnight, and it is total rubbish.

“It is actually a count of the total number of appointments that there are … what they’ve done is counted all the appointments that there are in the NHS.

“If you have an appointment, that is not because you’re on a waiting list, it is because you are going to go and see someone in the NHS.

“We measure waiting lists very rigorously and obviously a really important part of the recovery of the country post-coronavirus is getting those treatments that had to be delayed, getting them dealt with.

“But let’s deal with the facts rather than a spurious survey.”