Post-work drinks in the pandemic? We’re nurses not politicians, Mr Fabricant
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Post-work drinks in the pandemic? We’re nurses not politicians, Mr Fabricant

Tory MP Michael Fabricant was criticised for being factually incorrect and ‘utterly demoralising’ in defending prime minister Boris Johnson over the ‘partygate’ scandal by claiming that nurses were drinking in staff rooms during the pandemic.

Nursing Standard. 37, 5, 7-7. doi: 10.7748/ns.37.5.7.s5

Published: 04 May 2022

The Lichfield MP told BBC News that the prime minister’s appearances at Downing Street parties could be compared with nurses and teachers going for ‘a quiet drink’ in the staff room after a long shift. The backbencher claimed two nurses told him they did this during lockdown.

RCN general secretary Pat Cullen wrote to Mr Fabricant to rebut his claim. ‘I can assure you that none of us have sought to hang out and “have a quiet one in the staff room”,’ she wrote, adding ‘there isn’t a site in England’ that would allow alcohol on to the premises during working hours.

‘It is utterly demoralising – and factually incorrect – to hear you suggest that our diligent, safety-critical profession can reasonably be compared to any elected official breaking the law, at any time.’

Nurses used social media to label the comments disgraceful. One wrote: ‘To defend those who have been found to have broken the law by suggesting nurses were “drinking in the staff room” is a new low, even for this government.’

Mr Fabricant has since declined to withdraw his comments, which came as Mr Johnson and chancellor Rishi Sunak were fined for attending a gathering at Number 10 held at a time when gatherings were illegal under pandemic rules.

A nurse launched a petition calling for Mr Johnson to resign, receiving more than 380,000 signatures in the first 48 hours.

rcni.com/fabricant

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