David Lammy hits out at PM's mask-wearing track record
27 November 2021, 19:55
'We've got a Prime Minister who is a serial-abuser of wearing a mask.'
This was the moment David Lammy hit out at Boris Johnson's track record on mask-wearing, as the PM announced plans to 'tighten up' face mask rules in shops and on public transport.
It comes as Boris Johnson announced a new package of measures designed to mitigate any spread of the Omicron Covid variant, including the requirement for all arrivals to the UK to take a PCR test and isolate until they get a negative result.
David replied to a caller who pointed out that many people are not wearing masks any more.
"The problem is Gary, we've got a Prime Minister that has been caught so many times, he's a serial-abuser of wearing a mask," David said.
"He doesn't wear a mask in hospitals, he doesn't wear a mask when he's sitting next to a 95-year-old man. I'm thinking of David Attenborough who is a national treasure, and he's prepared to put him at risk.
PM announces Omicron changes to travel rules
"When you look into the House of Commons... there are many Conservative colleagues, because they're of a libertarian bent, that will not wear a mask."
Read more: Two UK cases of Omicron Covid variant detected with ‘link to travel to southern Africa’
David continued: "That's why he's rather relaxed about mask wearing and why we see that our restrictions, even though they've been reintroduced, stop short of what we're seeing in other parts of the United Kingdom."
Read more: Suspected Omicron Covid case found in Germany
