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U.K. Minister Compares Questions On Covid Rules To “Quiz Show”

U.K. Minister Compares Questions On Covid Rules To “Quiz Show”

A U.K. cabinet minister hit back over criticism that Boris Johnson’s government doesn’t know its own coronavirus rules, saying asking questions about them is “gotcha” journalism.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma told BBC Radio 4’s flagship “Today” show on Wednesday that it is “not a quiz show.”

The clash came after Johnson apologized for wrongly explaining the government’s pandemic restrictions on Tuesday. That followed skills minister Gillian Keegan admitting live on air that she didn’t know the rules coming into force in northeast England.

But the opposition Labour Party said ministers should know the detail of social distancing rules millions of people are being ordered to obey. “That’s not a gotcha, that’s just basic government competence,” Alex Norris, the party’s health spokesman, said.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.