Matt Hancock comes under fire after asking for donations on London Marathon JustGiving page

Internet trolls have been donating money to Matt Hancock's London Marathon fundraising page just to hurl abuse at the disgraced former health secretary.

The West Suffolk MP, who resigned from his cabinet role in June after he was caught breaking the coronavirus restrictions he helped to impose by kissing his aide Gina Coladangelo, has plans to run the 26.2 mile route for the first time next month.

He is raising money for Bury St Edmunds-based St Nicholas Hospice Care, which also has charity shops in several towns including Newmarket, Mildenhall, Haverhill and Sudbury.

Despite having kept a low profile for the past few months, Mr Hancock came under the spotlight again after people took to his JustGiving page to leave offensive comments alongside an anonymous donation of £2.

The comments have since been removed from the JustGiving page but many have since taken to Twitter to make their opinions known.

One person said: "You are utterly without shame, it’s actually quite impressive."

Another said: "It’s a shame but I could never donate to anybody so untrustworthy. I’d always be wondering how much you’d made out of it all."

The page has raised £3,205 thanks to donations by almost 400 people.

On his page, he said: "I’ve decided to run the 2021 London Marathon in aid of St Nicholas Hospice Care.

"St Nicholas Hospice Care is a fantastic charity working in my constituency of West Suffolk, who look to give help, support and advice to those who are living with long-term and life-threatening illnesses.

"The Hospice sees around 2000 people each year and any money donated will makes a real difference to people's lives.

"This is my first London Marathon and I'm really excited to take part and raise money for St Nicholas Hospice Care. I have already started my training and hope to keep you all updated with my progress."

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