UK's Johnson stands by health secretary who broke COVID rules kissing aide

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Health Secretary Matt Hancock leaves his house, in London, Britain June 17, 2021. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

LONDON (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Boris Johnson rejected calls on Friday to fire his health secretary, after pictures appeared of him embracing and kissing an aide in his office, in what he acknowledged was a breach of coronavirus rules.

The Sun newspaper, which published the photographs of Matt Hancock and the aide on its front page, said the images were taken last month, before the government lifted rules banning intimate contact with people outside a person's household.