A GOVERNMENT minister and Suffolk MP admitted today that he failed to take his own advice about getting to work on time, after turning up late for a TV interview.

Matthew Hancock was due to appear on ITV1’s Daybreak to discuss the Department for Business’s traineeship programme for young people preparing for work.

Youth Fight for Jobs supporter Ian Pattison, who was due to debate with the minister, said if Mr Hancock was a jobseeker he could have been docked benefits for missing an appointment.

“Can you imagine my surprise when I discovered a minister whose Government berates so-called ‘shirkers’ couldn’t be bothered to get out of bed to defend his own policy?” said Mr Pattison.

Mr Hancock held his hands up and admitted turning up late, and promised to learn from his own example.

“I was 30 seconds late for my interview at 6.40 this morning, so they wouldn’t let me into the studio to make my case,” said the Skills Minister.

“It proves the point: you’ve got to be on time for work or there are consequences. I’ll learn from my own example.”