Keir Starmer has said lifting all coronavirus restrictions in one go is “reckless” as he accused Boris Johnson of trying to “play the system” to avoid self-isolation.
A furious Labour leader called on Johnson to release a list of Conservative ministers who had been part of a trial where they would not have to self-isolate if pinged by the Covid app.
He said: “Let’s be clear: Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak only went into isolation because they were busted."
“We’ve seen once again their instincts on show, one rule for them, another for the rest of us.”
Starmer added: “The Government needs to publish all the details of how ministers deem themselves eligible for this scheme at a time when the public have not had the same access to it.”
Boris Johnson and chancellor Sajid Javid attempted to avoid self-isolation on the weekend by claiming they were part of Downing Street's involvement in a pilot project to test daily instead.
Only after a furious reaction did the pair concede to self-isolation with the PM in Chequers and Sunak holed up in his Downing Street flat above Number 11.
But previously cabinet Minister Michael Gove avoided self-isolation after being contacted by test and trace by using the pilot programme.
Making an online speech as all covid restrictions were lifted in England, Starmer said there had been “chaos, confusion, and cronyism at the heart of Government” throughout the pandemic.
He said: “There are hundreds of thousands of people who have been forced to miss family events, close businesses and go without pay, because they have done the right thing.
“And yet ministers have played the system.”
