Jacob Rees-Mogg has suggested “the weather” is to blame for the UK’s sky-high death toll from coronavirus, in the latest extraordinary explanation given.
The Commons leader also pointed to “the practices of individual cultures and societies” – although he did not expand on the thesis.
The reasoning comes after a different government minister drew criticism for claiming the UK was particularly vulnerable as “a global travel hub”.
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Most experts have pointed to Boris Johnson’s reluctance to lock down society until late March – after an explosion of Covid-19 infections – as the key reason for more than 50,000 deaths.
But, facing questions about that “shocking” record in the Commons, Mr Rees-Mogg said: “A wide range of factors have affected death rates in different countries.
“Even things as simple as the weather may have influenced how the virus has spread, and so may the practices of individual cultures and societies.
“I think, therefore, that these headline comparisons are not necessarily enormously illuminative.”
The number of UK fatalities passed 50,000 at the start of the month, the third highest behind only the US and Brazil in a grim table, although international counting methods do vary.
The prime minister is still refusing to hold an independent inquiry into his handling of the pandemic, despite pleas from medical experts as well as politicians.
If held, it is also likely to focus on the decision not to shut borders to travellers from hotspots such as Spain, France and Italy, which had high infection rates weeks earlier.
The now-notorious failures to stockpile testing kits and personal protective equipment (PPE) – as well as the discharging of 25,000 untested hospital patients into care homes – would also be explored.
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In the Commons, Mr Rees-Mogg gave his response after Labour MP Richard Burgon demanded “a debate on comparisons with other countries’ handling of coronavirus so that we can learn from best practices”.
“Nothing highlights the deep failings in the government’s response to coronavirus like our shockingly high deaths per million rate, in comparison with that of many other countries,” Mr Burgon said.
“We are very near the top of the deaths per million table, and that is a national scandal. Our deaths per million rate is six times higher than that in Germany, 100 times higher than that in South Korea and 150 times higher than that in Australia and New Zealand.”
