ALISTER Jack has defended his decision to travel to answer questions in the House of Commons, amid claims that he has ignored coronavirus advice from the Scottish Government.
Allan Dorans, SNP MP for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock, asked the Scottish Secretary to explain his reasoning for the trip from his Dumfries and Galloway constituency to appear at the despatch box in Westminster. Jack insisted he had travelled via train “safely”, and would isolate upon his return.
Boris Johnson was also pressed by Dorans to “condemn or condone” Jack’s decision, to which the Prime Minister replied: “All I can say is no. I won’t. I think the Secretary of State for Scotland does an admirable job.”
Dorans said: “What justification does the Secretary of State have for ignoring Scottish Government guidelines to stay home, protect the NHS and save lives by undertaking an almost 700-mile round trip to Westminster when he could safely work virtually from home today?”
Jack replied: “Members of Parliament are key workers, but more importantly, as a Cabinet minister and a Secretary of State, it is right that I should be here in the chamber so I can be properly scrutinised and answer these questions. I came down at the weekend, I travelled on a
train very safely, I will return safely and I will be isolating myself when I do – but that is only because I go back to family.”
MPs are able to contribute to proceedings via Zoom, though the UK Government is seeking to end this from June 2.
Jack also said the “silence” over coronavirus infections in attendees at a Nike conference in Edinburgh in February was “a matter for the Scottish Government and how they handled it”.
Labour’s shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray said: “The Secretary of State will be aware of the February outbreak of Covid-19 at an international Nike conference in central Edinburgh ... Can the Secretary of State tell the House if the UK Government was informed and why the public were not told given the subsequent disinfecting and closure of subsequent Nike outlets across the UK, and how many lives could have been saved as a result?”
Jack replied: “I would like to make it clear that the Scottish Government informed Public Health England ... of one case of Covid-19 on March 2 and two further cases on March 4.”
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