Boris Johnson Accused of Hypocrisy Over Speech to Packed Tory Meeting

(Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson was accused of hypocrisy as his office warned Britons against breaking pandemic social-distancing rules, just minutes after the prime minister addressed a meeting of Conservative lawmakers he described as packed in “cheek by jowl.”

At least 50 Tory members of Parliament crammed into the parliamentary meeting room on Wednesday evening for the meeting, despite a sign on the door warning only 29 should be allowed in to limit the spread of coronavirus. And Johnson even commented on how he wanted people to be packed together in the same way by Christmas, according to two people at the meeting.

While some observed social-distancing rules that individuals should be more than a meter apart by taking seats that were spaced out, later arrivals “crammed” together at the back of the room to hear Johnson, according to three people present, who asked not to be identified because the meeting was private.

A spokesman for Johnson said his office would not be making any statement about the meeting with the influential 1922 committee of rank-and-file Tory lawmakers.

The gathering appeared to undermine the strict rules the U.K. government has imposed on businesses and families to help reduce transmission of the virus, and could further damage public trust in the prime minister after weeks of criticism and policy reversals. Just 40 minutes after it finished, the prime minister’s office sent a tweet warning people not to attend gatherings of more than 30 people.

The meeting came a day after Defense Secretary Ben Wallace apologized for shaking hands on his way into Johnson’s office and is the latest in a string of headaches for the premier, whose government has been forced into a series of u-turns in recent weeks.

Pandemic Rules

It also risks reminding voters of the storm around allegations that Johnson’s senior aide, Dominic Cummings, flouted lockdown rules earlier in the pandemic, and bolsters claims there’s one set of rules for the public and another for the elite.

The opposition Liberal Democrats wrote to Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg to demand an inquiry and for action to be taken if Covid rules had been broken.

“There is no end to the Tories’ hypocrisy,” Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse said in an email. “The Prime Minister and his ministers have already evaporated the public’s trust in them with their shameless defense of Dominic Cummings, but it appears they have not learned their lesson.”

Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee, said social-distancing rules were observed.

“It is a workplace and social distancing of one meter plus was maintained as per government guidance for other workplaces,” Brady said in a text message. “Obviously it is important that the democratic process is not interrupted.”

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