UK health minister quits after breaking COVID rules

LONDON: Britain's health minister Matt Hancock quit on Saturday after he was caught breaking COVID-19 rules by kissing and embracing an aide in his office, enraging colleagues and the public who have been living under lockdown.

The 42-year-old wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign after The Sun newspaper published photos of the married minister embracing a woman who he had appointed to a taxpayer-funded role to scrutinise the performance of his department. Hancock has been at the centre of the government's fight against the pandemic, routinely appearing on the television and radio to tell people to follow the strict rules to contain the virus.