On Sunday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson avoided self-isolation after being pinged for contact with Covid-positive Health Minister Sajid Javid.
Johnson and chancellor Rishi Sunak have been contacted by NHS Test and Trace as contacts of Javid, who has tested positive for Covid-19, but will avoid self-isolation under a “daily contact testing” pilot scheme.
The “get out of jail free” pilot scheme has become controversial after being used by Michael Gove and a number of senior Whitehall officials in order to avoid quarantine during the “pingdemic”.
On her part, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said Johnson and Sunak were treating the public with “contempt”.
“Sorry for the unparliamentary language but this just takes the pi**,” Rayner wrote on Twitter. “Not following the rules that they created and which they expect my constituents to follow."
[embed]https://twitter.com/AngelaRayner/status/1416667207661236226?s=08[/embed]
She added in another tweet: "By breaking the rules the PM and Chancellor have given millions of people a blank cheque to ignore the rules too. Dangerous and stupid."
[embed]https://twitter.com/AngelaRayner/status/1416672001876545536?s=08[/embed]
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey noted it was a case of “one rule for them and another rule for everyone else”, while Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley said that in voicing his response “anger doesn’t cover it”.
Government sources have affirmed that staff and ministers at three Whitehall departments, including the Cabinet Office and 10 Downing Street, have signed up to the pilot, allowing several inpiduals to continue working after being “pinged”.
A 10 Downing Street spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister and chancellor have been contacted by NHS Test and Trace as contacts of someone who has tested positive for Covid."
“They will be participating in the daily contact testing pilot to allow them to continue to work from Downing Street," the spokesman mentioned.
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