Boris Johnson said it was “barely 30 seconds” that he was not wearing a mask during a visit to Hexham General Hospital last week.
Appearing in front of Parliament’s Liaison Committee, the PM defended himself after photos emerged of him without a face covering during the visit.
Following questioning from Home Affairs Select Committee chairwoman Yvette Cooper, Mr Johnson said: “As for not wearing a mask in Hexam Hospital, which you wrap up into my general litany of crime, can I just say that actually, there was barely 30 seconds where I wasn’t wearing a mask.
“I walked out of a room mistakenly not wearing it. I then put it on as soon as I realised I made that mistake.
“I apologise for it, but most pictures of my visit to the hospital will show that I was duly masked throughout the remainder of the visit, and I was masked on the way into the visit.”
Mr Johnson also came under fire when he was pictured not wearing a mask whilst sitting next to a mask-wearing Sir David Attenborough, 95, at the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow.
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