.. And you thought YOU were confused
» Pathetic PM can’t explain his own rules » Yet you risk a fine if you don’t know the law
BORIS Johnson was forced to apologise yesterday after bungling an explanation of his baffling lockdown rules.
His gaffe sparked anger among two million in the North East who face fines if they break local restrictions.
BORIS Johnson failed to grasp his own baffling lockdown rules yesterday as new Covid-19 infections soared to their highest levels since the start of the crisis.
The under-fire Prime Minister was forced to apologise after trying to spell out the latest restrictions slapped on two million people in the North East of England.
And he even echoed a phrase regularly trotted out by his bungling US counterpart President Donald Trump as he later admitted: “Apologies, I misspoke today.”
Mr Johnson had used a speech in Exeter to try to explain the latest rules, which took effect in North and South Tyneside, Northumberland, Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland and County Durham from midnight.
And in a turn that channelled Matt Lucas’s impression of him on the Great British Bake-Off, he said: “In the North East and other areas where extra- tight measures have been brought in, you should follow the guidance of local authorities. But it is six in a home, six in hospitality but, as I understand it, not six outside. That is the situation there.”
He later said: “Apologies, I misspoke today. In the North East, you cannot meet different households in social settings indoors, including in pubs, restaurants and your home.
“You should also avoid socialising with other households outside.”
The new rules state that, for the first time, it is illegal in the North East to meet other households in a pub or restaurant – and offenders face £200 fines. This aligns rules for public venues with a ban on visiting other people’s homes and gardens in the region.
But while it is not against the law to meet them outside – in a beer garden or park – it is against guidance.
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said: “For the Prime Minister to not understand his own rules is grossly incompetent. These restrictions are due to come in across huge parts of the country. The Government needs to get a grip”
And comic Al Murray tweeted: “Don’t worry Boris, I don’t know what the rules are either.” It came as the UK saw 7,143 new infections yesterday – the highest daily rise since the crisis began. Deaths doubled in the past week with 71 recorded yesterday, the most since June 24.
There was also a rise in weekly infections in 265 of England’s 315 local authority areas.
The PM’s rules gaffe followed a car-crash TV interview by Education Minister Gillian Keegan. Asked if the ban on meeting in the North East applied to beer gardens, she said: “I’m
In the th North N th E East t and d other th areas where extra tight measures have been brought in, you should follow the guidance of local authorities – but it’s six in a home, six in hospitality but, as I understand it, not six outside
Apologies, li Im is spokeikttoday.d In the NorthEast, new rules mean you cannot meet people from different households in social settings indoors, including in pubs, restaurants and your home. You should also avoid socialising with other households outside