A string of Conservative MPs are self-isolating following a meeting in Downing Street that has forced Boris Johnson to spend a potentially crucial week holed up inside No 10.
The prime minister, who was seriously ill with coronavirus in April, has insisted he is fine and that his body “is bursting with antibodies” after he was ordered to self-isolate following a 35-minute meeting with a group of Tory MPs from the Midlands and north of England on Thursday.
Lee Anderson, the MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, showed some coronavirus symptoms on Friday and received a positive test result on Sunday. A photograph of him and Johnson at the meeting showed them seemingly less than 2 metres apart, and neither wearing a mask.
Since then, five more Tory MPs who were at the event have said they are self-isolating, raising questions about why the meeting was not held virtually and whether proper coronavirus guidelines were followed.
Two Downing Street political aides also attended and were now self-isolating, Johnson’s spokesman said. The aides were not named, but the spokesman confirmed they were not Dominic Cummings or Lee Cain, the PM’s former chief adviser and communications head respectively, who both left Downing Street amid bitter infighting at the end of last week.
In a video posted to Twitter, Johnson said: “Hi folks, the good news is that NHS test and trace is working ever more efficiently, but the bad news is that they’ve pinged me and I’ve got to self-isolate because someone I was in contact with a few days ago has developed Covid.
“It doesn’t matter that we were all doing social distancing, it doesn’t matter that I’m fit as a butcher’s dog, feel great – so many people do in my circumstances. And actually it doesn’t matter that I’ve had the disease and I’m bursting with antibodies. We’ve got to interrupt the spread of the disease and one of the ways we can do that now is by self-isolating for 14 days when contacted by test and trace.”
Downing Street later confirmed that Johnson had had at least one antibody test for Covid. The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “The PM has had an antibody test. He had that following the serious level of infection that he had earlier in the year.” Asked whether he had received subsequent antibody tests, the spokesman said: “I don’t know when the most recent test was.”
The five other Tory MPs who said they had been at the meeting and were now self-isolating are: Brendan Clarke-Smith (Bassetlaw), Andy Carter (Warrington South), Lia Nici (Great Grimsby), Katherine Fletcher (South Ribble) and Chris Clarkson (Heywood and Middleton).
Clarke-Smith and Carter posted very similar photos of themselves with Johnson to that taken with Anderson, appearing to be closer than 2 metres and not wearing face coverings.
Separately, the former Conservative minister Maria Miller, who sat next to Anderson in the Commons on Wednesday, is also reportedly self-isolating. Meanwhile, Jacob Young, Matt Vickers and Marco Longhi were also among MPs who indicated they were self-isolating.
Johnson’s spokesman insisted no distancing rules had been broken, despite the photos showing maskless MPs standing near Johnson.
“Social distancing was observed at the meeting. It’s also the case that No 10 is a Covid-secure workplace,” he said. Asked to explain the small distance between Johnson and the MPs, the spokesman said this was in part because they were stood side by side, not face to face.
Asked why the meeting was held in person, he said: “Meetings for work are possible and are taking place. The PM has been having a mix of meetings.”
Johnson, who must isolate for 10 more days – the 14-day self-isolation period begins with the last contact with the infected person – has been working in his Downing Street office rather than staying inside his flat in the building.
His spokesman said Johnson was able to reach the office via a garden, with no contact with staff, and that this had been cleared by medical advisers.
The advice for Johnson to self-isolate comes at a difficult moment for the government. He is expected to continue to make public statements from inside No 10, including on the government’s green plans. This is also a pivotal week for Brexit, as negotiations with the EU reach their final phase.
Downing Street said officials were in “advanced discussions” with parliamentary authorities about Johnson taking part in prime minister’s questions and other House of Commons proceedings remotely. Under the “hybrid” parliament arrangements, MPs can take part in some proceedings by video link.
In a Facebook post, Anderson said he had developed coronavirus symptoms on Friday and received a positive result by Sunday. He added: “I feel absolutely fine and my biggest concern is my wife who is in the shielded group.”
Johnson contracted the disease himself in late March, shortly after announcing the first nationwide lockdown. He initially continued to work in Downing Street before his health worsened and he was taken to intensive care.
Others who tested positive or suffered symptoms included the health secretary, Matt Hancock; England’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty; the former cabinet secretary Mark Sedwill, and Cummings.