Ending of the virtual parliament is reckless says, Isles MP

Commenting Angus MacNeil MP said: “The removal of the virtual parliament discriminates against Scottish MPs who are now being forced to choose between breaking the lockdown or attending Westminster.

“The Leader of the House of Commons has stated that Parliament would be Covid-19 secure by 2nd June.

“We do not have the evidence of this, but evidence to the contrary; Public Health England has deemed the voting lobbies unsafe for voting and the Speaker of the House of Commons has issued a letter to all MPs, in which he says that based on the latest professional advice from Public Health England, the House simply cannot conduct votes safely via the lobbies.

“The hybrid system that was in place was working well for remote participation and voting, committees will continue to operate with this virtual system so why can’t the chamber?

“It is crazy to expect MPs to travel from all over Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland into London.

“This decision is purely to line up Boris Johnson’s baying MPs behind him in an effort to cover up his shortcomings at the Despatch Box and I will not dance to Johnson’s tune and put my constituents at risk.”