By Harriet Brewis

Evening Standard Online – 5 May 2020

The House of Commons echoed with peals of laughter today as Matt Hancock complimented a fellow Tory MP on his lockdown hairdo.

Julian Lewis, the MP for New Forest East, appeared via video link during a virtual sitting of Parliament. Mr Lewis was discussing shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) when the Health Secretary noticed his “smart” locks.

The backbencher asked Mr Hancock if he would get in touch with a firm in his constituency with access to a network of manufacturers in southern China that could supply PPE to the UK. Mr Hancock said he would be happy to get in touch with the firm once he had received the details, adding:

“I’d also be very happy to know where (Mr Lewis) got his haircut because it’s extraordinary.

“Nobody else has got such smart hair, everybody else is looking rather increasingly bushy.”

Mr Lewis beamed at the comments, which were met with delight by the scant gathering of MPs in the chamber. Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle had to stifle his guffaws as he turned to the next questioner, [hirsute] Labour MP Alex Sobel.

[To view this moment of light relief, click here.]