The Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, has told MPs he thinks it is “totally unacceptable” that the government will be holding a press conference this evening on expected changes to the Covid roadmap timetable before informing the House of Commons.
Boris Johnson is giving a Downing Street press conference at 6pm - two-and-a-half hours before his Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, will answer MPs' questions in the Commons at 8.30pm.
It prompted The Speaker to say: “Can I just say, we weren’t going to get a statement until I got involved with Downing Street.
"The fact is this has been forced to actually get a statement today, it was going to be left to tomorrow which would have been totally unacceptable.
“The fact is – I understand the Prime Minister at the moment is on Nato, there is a big conference going on, he isn’t here – that’s why I insisted that somebody came to make this statement.
"The timing of it is 8.30pm. I thought that was better than waiting for the Prime Minister to make a statement tomorrow."
Sir Lindsay added: “This House needs to know, it needs to know first.
"I find it totally unacceptable that once again, once again, that we see Downing Street running roughshod over members of Parliament.
"We’re not accepting it and I’m at the stage where I’m beginning to look for other avenues if they’re not going to treat this house seriously.
“But I will say I think it’s time for me to have a meeting with the Prime Minister to actually put on the record here now but with him that this House matters.”
