Minister suffers car crash interview over lockdown rules

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Boris Johnson was lampooned today as he apologised for getting lockdown rules in the North East wrong – hours after another minister admitted she did not know if friends can meet in pub gardens.

In a toe-curling episode that mirrored comedian Matt Lucas’s spoof of government bumbling, the PM floundered as he was grilled on how the restrictions work – suggesting that households could still mix in groups of six indoors. 

To cap his embarrassment, Mr Johnson – who is due to address the nation at a press conference tomorrow with medical and science chiefs Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance – then had to tweet to clear up the confusion, saying he had misspoken and households will not be allowed to mix indoors, regardless of numbers. 

The mess came after skills minister Gillian Keegan suffered a series of car crash interviews this morning, admitting she was unable to answer key questions over new curbs that come into effect from midnight. 

Answering questions about the North East lockdown at Exeter College in Devon, Mr Johnson was challenged over whether he had a better grip. 

‘On the rule of six, outside the areas such as the North East where extra measures have been brought in, it is six inside, six outside,’ he said. 

‘And in the North East and other areas where extra tight measures have been brought in you should follow the guidance of the local authorities.

‘But it’s six in a home or six in hospitality, but as I understand it not six outside. That is the situation there.’

The blunder had uncomfortable echoes of the skit by Lucas, which was aired at the start of the Great British Bake Off on Channel 4 last week. It saw the comedian dressed up as Mr Johnson taking a faux press conference in Downing Street. Ridiculing the complicated rules, Lucas urged people to ‘bake in a tent’ if they must, before adding: ‘Don’t bake in a tent.’ 

The incident risks fuelling Tory discontent about the way the the coronavirus crisis has been handled, with anger that swingeing measures have been forced through without Parliamentary scrutiny and the economy is being sacrificed. 

The government is desperately trying to soothe a mutiny among dozens of MPs who have lined up behind an amendment tabled by backbench chief Sir Graham Brady. It insists that a Commons vote should be held before any more curbs are put in place.  

Earlier, Ms Keegan was asked whether restrictions banning households in the region from meeting indoors from tomorrow applied to pubs and restaurant gardens. 

She said ‘I don’t know the answer to that question’ as she admitted she did not fully understand the rules less than a day before they are due to come into force. 

Labour branded the misstep ‘grossly incompetent’, saying ministers ‘don’t know what’s going on’.  

The bungling came as: 

• Boris Johnson is desperately trying to quell Tory mutinies over coronavirus lockdowns, the university shambles and 10pm pubs curfew amid claims angry MPs are mounting a ‘Trojan Horse’ plot to get rid of him.
• Mr Johnson is due to ‘update’ the public on the coronavirus battle at a press conference tomorrow with medical and science chiefs Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance; 
• Education Secretary Gavin Williamson was due to finally publicly address the chaotic situation in universities after he was labelled ‘the invisible man’. 
• The Institute for Fiscal Studies said taxes could soar by £60 billion in the coming years to avoid a new wave of austerity. 
• The think tank said an income tax rise of 6p or 7p for every £1 earned could be needed to cover extra public spending over the next five or six years. 
•  The Children’s Commissioner for England today called for the Rule of Six to be changed to exempt all children under the age of 12 and for restrictions on households mixing to allow children from different families to play together.
• Real-time data from the NHS contact tracing app could allow local lockdowns to be imposed 24 hours after an outbreak. 
• One of the country’s top civil servants has predicted that working from home will become a ‘permanent feature’ for some staff working in Government departments. 
• Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster announced an 11pm curfew for the hospitality sector.

Mr Johnson rushed to defuse the row over his muffed explanation of lockdown within hours, issuing a rare apology.

‘Apologies, I misspoke today,’ he wrote. 

‘In the North East, new rules mean you cannot meet people from different households in social settings indoors, including in pubs, restaurants and your home. 

‘You should also avoid socialising with other households outside. 

‘This is vital to control the spread of coronavirus and keep everyone safe. If you are in a high risk area, please continue to follow the guidelines from local authorities.’ 

But Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said: ‘For the Prime Minister to not understand his own rules is grossly incompetent.

‘These new restrictions are due to come into force across huge parts of the country tonight. The government needs to get a grip.’

The government’s use of the sweeping powers it was granted by Parliament at the start of the coronavirus crisis has been causing increasing discontent among Tories.

The Coronavirus Act 2020 – which underpins the lockdown along with the Health Protection Act 1984 – has to be renewed every six months, with a vote due tomorrow. 

But ministers have been trying to find a settlement with Sir Graham’s band of rebels after they threatened to derail the process. The government is now expected to commit to holding votes where practical before any further restrictions are imposed.

Cabinet sources told MailOnline today that they believe a compromise is close to being struck. 

Former minister Sir Desmond Swayne warned this morning that some MPs could vote against the renewal of the Coronavirus Act unless there are deep concessions.

Accusing ministers of governing by ‘fiat’, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘If there isn’t a vote on the amendment and there isn’t a satisfactory response from the Government to the demands of the amendment, many people will vote against a renewal of an act.

‘Well when I say many, there will be a number, but certainly the Government isn’t going to be defeated.’

Senior Tory Steve Baker has likened some of the Government’s coronavirus restrictions to George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, specifically referencing a ban on singing and dancing in bars, cafes and restaurants. 

Mr Johnson today appealed to MPs to renew the powers in the Coronavirus Act, saying the nation remained in a ‘serious situation’. 

‘Nobody wants to do these kinds of things. Nobody in their right mind wants to stop people singing and dancing in pubs or enjoying themselves in the normal way,’ he told the press conference. 

‘I appreciate the (Orwell) characterisation but if we all work together and get this thing down, get this virus down, then we can keep going with our strategy, keep education open, keep the economy moving and work for the day, as I say, when I believe that those medical scientific improvements will truly deliver the long-term liberation we need. 

‘And to deliver it we’ve all basically got to work together and follow the guidance. That’s what I respectfully say to my colleagues in Parliament and they will, as I know they all want, have an opportunity to talk about these issues, to debate them properly, and discuss them as parliamentarians should.’ 

He also reiterated his commitment to give more regular debates on coronavirus in the Commons and promised that MPs will be able to question the Government’s scientific advisers more regularly. 

However, after the Prime Minister’s plea, further pressure came from the senior group of MPs on the Liaison Committee, which gets to question Mr Johnson in the Commons. 

Senior Tory MP Sir Bernard Jenkin, writing to Mr Johnson as committee chair, said the ‘majority of us’ support Parliament having a vote ‘before or immediately after’ restrictions come into force. 

‘The idea that such restrictions can be applied without express parliamentary approval, except in dire emergency, is not widely acceptable and indeed may be challenged in law,’ Sir Bernard said. 

Health Secretary Matt Hancock yesterday announced a tightening of measures for Northumberland, Newcastle, North and South Tyneside, Gateshead, Sunderland and County Durham.

Aimed at stopping a resurgence of coronavirus, the Department of Health said laws would ban inter-household mixing indoors, including in pubs and restaurants.

But some questioned whether the measures, to be enforced with fines, would include meeting people from other homes outside in hospitality settings.

Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday, Ms Keegan said: ‘I’m sorry I can’t clarify that.

‘I don’t know the answer to that question but I’m sure they can find out the answer to that question.’  

Pressed on how people are meant to keep up to date with the latest restrictions when even ministers cannot, she said: ‘I’m sorry I can’t answer that question. I’m sure there are many people who could. I don’t represent the North East.’

Tory disquiet over new rules, regulations and fines has also increased after it emerged the authorities will have the power to use ‘reasonable force’ to make people self-isolate.  

New laws published by the Government state that ‘reasonable force’ can be used if someone refuses to comply with an instruction to stay at home after testing positive for coronavirus or if they have been in contact with someone else who has the disease.

The power will be available to all ‘authorised persons’ amid reports that could include so-called ‘Covid marshalls’ as well as the police and council staff.  

Ms Keegan was grilled during an interview on Sky News on which local lockdowns have actually worked but she was unable to give a firm answer.  

‘I think, I am not an expert on this, but I think in Leicester there were some signs of some improvement in terms of the rate,’ she said. 

The Skills Minister was also asked what the science is to back up the Government’s decision to impose a 10pm curfew on pubs and restaurants in England.  

She said: ‘The 10pm curfew is about reducing the amount of socialising. What the science shows us is the virus is largely being passed on by people socialising.’

Sky News presenter Kay Burley told Ms Keegan that the curfew is not supported by any statistics, promoting the Tory MP to reply: ‘What it does is it takes an hour off the socialising time, reducing socialising, the same as the Rule of Six.’

When it was pointed out to Ms Keegan that 3.2 per cent of cases last week were found to have originated in a hospitality setting, she said: ‘Yes. Yes and actually we know that the hospitality sector has done a brilliant job of making their places Covid-secure.’

Ms Burley asked Ms Keegan why the Government is seemingly ‘punishing’ pubs and restaurants and the minister appeared to admit that was the case as she said: ‘Because we are trying to reduce the amount of socialising.’

Ms Keegan also said it is ‘hard to see how night clubs will open until we have some kind of long term way to deal with coronavirus’ as she defended a new ban on singing and dancing in pubs. 

Told the ban was ‘ridiculous’, Ms Keegan hit back and said: ‘No, I think it is common sense. It is common sense. 

‘If you put a lot of people together and say all of you can move but all of you have to keep two metres apart, I think it is common sense.’

The decision to impose new restrictions on the north east of England prompted anger among council leaders who said they were not consulted before the action was taken. 

The leader of Gateshead Council has said he was not warned that new restrictions were coming. 

Martin Gannon told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the measures were ‘unfortunately’ necessary to deal with the cases having ‘skyrocketed’ in the North East, but said a ‘proper’ test and trace system could have managed the pandemic.

‘It was announced in the House of Commons and we were not told beforehand that announcement was going to be made,’ he said. 

‘However, we had had discussions last week that led us to believe that this was going to happen. We just weren’t pre-warned that it was actually going to happen. It didn’t help.

‘I got inundated with telephone calls and emails last night from people asking, ‘Can we do this, can we do that?’ and actually I didn’t have the precise wording of the regulations in front of us.

‘So it is a bit chaotic the way these things happen, Nick (Forbes, Newcastle City Council leader) was quite right to be annoyed about that.’

Mr Forbes said yesterday that the way the ban on households mixing in private or public was revealed had damaged ‘public confidence’.

‘While we have been in discussions with the Government on potential further restrictions the Secretary of State has once again stood up and announced changes without telling us he was about to do so,’ he said. 

‘We want to work constructively with the Government, but the way these measures are being communicated in headlines and without detail does nothing for public confidence.

‘We have demanded clarity on the new restrictions, testing and support for those businesses most affected.’

Speaking in Parliament, Mr Hancock had said: ‘I must announce further measures for the parts of the North East where we introduced local action a fortnight ago.

‘Unfortunately the number of cases continues to rise sharply. The incident rate across the area is now over 100 cases per 100,000. We know that a large number of these infections are taking place in indoor settings outside the home.

‘And so at the request of the local councils, with whom we have been working closely, we will introduce legal restrictions on indoor mixing between households in any setting.

‘We do not take these steps lightly but we must take them and take them now because we know that swift action is more likely to bring the virus under control and the quicker we can get this virus under control the quicker we can restore the freedoms we all enjoy in the North East and across the country.’

With 16 million Britons now under draconian restrictions, Tory MPs have warned of ‘national lockdown by default’.

Conservative backbenchers are increasingly angry at the Government for rolling out restrictions on freedoms without first putting measures to a vote in Parliament. 

They said their constituents are ‘incredibly irritated’ at the latest crackdown and warned that while ‘they will grudgingly abide by it in the short term… they want to know where the end is’. 

Former minister Simon Clarke, who stepped down from Government this month, said yesterday that he supported ‘limited, proportionate’ measures to control the virus. But the Middlesbrough South MP warned that the public would not tolerate seemingly arbitrary restrictions until the spring.

He said there was no clear exit strategy and, without one, many would face ‘a long, hard, lonely winter’.

Mr Clarke said a second full lockdown would cause stark health problems, adding: ‘It would also creep in like sea mist in less tangible ways – the opportunities forgone by a generation of young people, the loneliness of millions parted from their loved ones again.’

Echoing Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s words from last week, he said Britain had to learn to ‘live without fear’, adding: ‘It must be right that we seek to keep as much of society and the economy open as we can.’ In a joint letter yesterday, Teesside Tory MPs Jacob Young, Matt Vickers, and Mr Clarke joined forces with Darlington MP Peter Gibson and Sedgefield’s Paul Howell.

They told town halls and Mr Hancock that national measures like the rule of six and the 10pm curfew on pubs should be given more time to ‘bed in’ before further measures were imposed. They said the country had to accept it would be ‘living alongside this virus for a significant time to come’.

They added: ‘In particular, a ban on household mixing as winter approaches would in practice condemn thousands of local people to loneliness and isolation – even with mitigating measures in place.’

North West Durham MP Ric Holden said his constituents wanted to know when they would be freed from the latest onerous restrictions, which were requested by local authorities in the region.

‘People are incredibly irritated by the restrictions and they are a disaster for the hospitality industry,’ he said. ‘They will grudgingly abide by it in the short term, but they want to know where the end is, and they certainly don’t want any more.’

Mark Harper, the Tory former chief whip, summed up the Conservative discontent in the Commons yesterday as he lashed out at Mr Hancock over the new rules and regulations. 

‘The laws that came in at midnight, for example, were 12 pages of laws, with lots of detail, criminal offences and duties not mentioned when they were set out in a statement last week,’ he said.  

‘That includes duties on employers, directors and officers, with serious criminal penalties. 

‘We need to scrutinise the detail of the legislation before it comes into force and give our assent, and not, I am afraid, just allow the Secretary of State to put it into force by decree.’ 

Tory MPs are hoping to force a vote tomorrow on forcing the Government to put all future measures to a vote in Parliament before they are rolled out. 

A group of up to 80 Tories are poised to support a rebel amendment when the Government asks the Commons to formally renew the Coronavirus Act for another six months. 

There are questions over whether Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle will select the amendment tabled by Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers. 

But senior Tory Sir Desmond Swayne today warned that if the amendment is not selected some Conservative MPs could opt for the ‘nuclear option’ of voting against the renewal of the Act. 

Accusing ministers of governing by ‘fiat’, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘If there isn’t a vote on the amendment and there isn’t a satisfactory response from the Government to the demands of the amendment, many people will vote against a renewal of an act.

‘Well when I say many, there will be a number, but certainly the Government isn’t going to be defeated.’