PERSHORE’s MP Harriett Baldwin has expressed her ‘shock and disappointment’ at both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor being fined for breaking lockdown rules in Downing Street in June 2020.
And while the West Worcestershire MP has ruled out writing a letter of no confidence in the Prime Minister to Conservative 1922 committee chairman Sir Graham Brady, Mrs Baldwin condemned her party leader and chancellor for their actions.
However Evesham’s MP Nigel Huddleston, who serves as Sports Minister in the Government, accepted the ‘sincere apologies’ made by Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak and continued to offer his support.
Number 10 confirmed the Prime Minister would receive a fixed penalty notice for attending a birthday party on June 19, 2020. The guidelines at that time banned people from different households meeting indoors for any length of time.
Mr Johnson, his wife Carrie and Chancellor Rishi Sunak were among a tranche of 30 more fixed penalty notices dished out by Scotland Yard on Tuesday (April 12) to people who broke lockdown rules.
All three have confirmed the fines had been paid and Mr Johnson apologised for breaking the rules and said he accepted ‘in full sincerity that people had the right to expect better’.
However, speaking to the Observer, Mrs Baldwin said: “Naturally I am shocked and disappointed the Metropolitan Police have found both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor behaved in such a way in their workplace that they have attracted a criminal sanction.
“So many of us made huge sacrifices during periods of lockdown and I have heard many, many stories of local people who missed out on birthdays, marriages, deaths and funerals because they were following the rules. My thoughts remain with every person who lost a loved one or friends in this terrible chapter of our history.
“As a vice chair of the Coronavirus Recovery Group I hope this will deter any future Government from putting in place rules which are so difficult to follow for themselves and for us all.
“While I do not intend to write a letter to Sir Graham Brady MP, as I believe the Government is showing strong and unified leadership over Ukraine, I am proud to live in a democratic country where our politicians face frequent and rigorous judgment from voters at the ballot box,” she added.
Mr Huddleston said: “Many people made extraordinary sacrifices during the pandemic and are understandably angry about this matter.
“They (the Prime Minister and Chancellor) have my support because I know they, and the whole government, are committed to delivering on the priorities of the British people including dealing with the situation in Ukraine, the recovery from the pandemic, and the cost of living.”
