Tory MPs have been told “no more excuses, masks on mushes” as they continue to resist official guidance to wear masks in the Commons chamber.
SNP MP Pete Wishart urged Jacob Rees-Mogg to “convince those menaces on the libertarian wing” of the Conservative Party to follow his lead and wear a mask in the Commons.
The Commons leader had been one of the most defiant MPs when it comes to wearing a face covering to prevent the spread of Covid inside parliament but adopted a blue and white mask the Old Etonian colours this week as guidance changed.
Wishart praised him for wearing a face covering during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday and asked if he would appeal to “menaces on the libertarian side of the Conservative Party” to mask up as well.
Wishart said: “He and I were at the same meeting and we were told by Public Health England that if everybody on this estate wore a face mask, infections would be cut by 12 per cent
“So, no more excuses, masks on mushes.”
Some Tory MPs has have made a point of being been seen without a mask in the Commons
Rees-Mogg previously insisted that his party members did not need them as they saw each other so frequently and he tested each time before coming to the Commons.
Rees-Mogg replied: “I’m delighted (Pete Wishart) is so easily pleased.
“Had I realised that he would become sweetness and light merely by my momentarily wearing a mask I may have been tempted to do it before the Christmas season or the season advent was upon us.”
While there are currently no rules about covering your face in the workplace, Downing Street and the Prime Minister have been criticised for not setting an example when it comes to face masks in recent months.
Rees-Mogg insisted it is a “matter of judgment” for MPs to decide whether or not to wear a face mask in the Commons.
The Conservative frontbencher told shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire: “She seems to have missed the fact that the rules on masks changed, which is why people are wearing them more and they are compulsory in public transport and in shops, but they are not compulsory in the chamber.
“It is a matter of judgment for people and people are entitled in this chamber not to wear them if that is the decision that they want to make.”
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