Conservative MP Michael Fabricant has attempted to defend Boris Johnson for breaking his own lockdown laws by suggesting “many teachers and nurses” also broke the rules.
The MP for Lichfield rushed to justify Mr Johnson’s breaches of Covid law – at a surprise birthday party thrown for him by wife Carrie and No 10 staff – by claiming the prime minister was not aware at the time that he was breaking the law.
Mr Fabricant compared Mr Johnson’s actions, for which he was fined by police on Tuesday, as being like “many teachers and nurses who after a very, very long shift would tend to go back to the staff room and have a quiet drink”. He added: “Which is more or less what he has done.”
When asked about the source of his remark which suggested that teachers and nurses had also enagaged in lockdown-breaking activities, Mr Fabricant told BBC News: “Well, I do know of some who did and, you know, its quite natural. I wasn’t saying they were having a party – I am not saying that Boris Johnson was having a party.
“But I know nurses who were and I don’t think they were doing anything wrong.
“They worked really hard on a long shift and would go back to the staff room and have a drink.”
It comes after the prime minister and chancellor Rishi Sunak were on Tuesday issued with fixed penalty notice fines by police investigating breaches of Covid law.
Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak both faced immediate calls from opponents to resign.
Mr Fabricant issued no such demands, but did urge the prime minister to apologise to the House of Commons.
He said: “I think now the PM has got to think hard. I think he should certainly go and make a statement to the House of Commons on Tuesday, and I think he’s got to apologise.
“Having said that, I don’t think that at any time he thought he was breaking the law.
“I don’t know much about the birthday party which you talked about – I wasn’t invited.
“I don’t think he thought he was breaking the law, but of course that doesn’t make any sort of excuse.
“But we have got to carry on governing.”
It comes as a poll found that a majority of people in Britain think the prime minister should resign after being issued with a Covid fine.
A snap YouGov poll of 2,460 adults taken on Tuesday found that 57 per cent of people think he should go, with the same proportion thinking the same about the chancellor.
