FORMER Cabinet Minister Therese Coffey has revealed that she “nearly died” because of the stress of being in the Government.
Ms Coffey was replaced as Environment Secretary in the reshuffle by Rishi Sunak yesterday.
The Tory MP for Suffolk Coastal, 51, told BBC radio: “It was nearly five years ago I got so ill I nearly, dare I say it, died.”
Ms Coffey — who was deputy PM under Liz Truss’s leadership — added: “I was in hospital for a month with some of the stresses that happen with ministerial life.
“A few years ago I certainly worked myself into the ground somewhat, but I learned a lot from that incident and that’s why I’ve always had a joy about life.”
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Ms Coffey has served as an MP since 2010.
Before going into politics, she worked for Mars Incorporated and the BBC.
She is a former deputy Commons leader and was appointed as Minister for the Environment by former PM Theresa May.
In 2019, she was appointed Work and Pensions Secretary by then-Prime Minster Boris Johnson.
In September 2022 she was appointed as Health Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister by Ms Truss.
Rishi Sunak named Coffey as his Environment Secretary in 2022.