Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said reports that the Prime Minister said he would rather see “bodies pile high in their thousands” than order a third lockdown were “not true”.
Speaking to Sky News, the Cabinet minister said: “Look, it is not true, it has been categorically denied by practically everyone.
“We are getting into the sort of comedy chapter now of these gossip stories – unnamed sources, by unnamed advisers talking about unnamed events.
“None of this is serious. The Prime Minister has been utterly focused on delivering, alongside Cabinet colleagues, the response to Covid.”
He added: “All the ‘who said, what said’, I’ll leave that to the Oscar gossip columns that are now being rolled out today after last night.
“I’ll leave that to the Hello magazines of the world but Government is focused on delivering for the citizens on its Covid response.”
Health minister Nadine Dorries dismissed claims that Boris Johnson had said he would rather see “bodies pile high in their thousands” than face a third lockdown.
She tweeted: “This is an outright lie. Not one named source or substantiated fact.
“Days before Hartlepool by election and a wide set of local/PCC/Mayoral elections.
“It’s mendacious, vexatious co ordinated gossip given in order to negatively influence the outcome,” she claimed.
