Tory MP wants No 10 to get a bar so aides don’t have to carry suitcases of alcohol

Fabricant suggested ‘the rules were not clear’ – despite being set by the PM

MP for Lichfield Michael Fabricant has called for No 10 to get a bar installed so they no longer have to smuggle booze into the building inside suitcases following the Partygate fines handed out on Monday.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, the former Mid Staffordshire representative told host Nihal Arthanayake that, “in [his] view, there should just be a bar in Downing Street just as they have in the Palace of Westminster”.

https://t.co/mMdEdQvzyX

— Dino Sofos (@dinosofos) April 12, 2022

This comes after both Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak were among those fined following the criminal investigation into numerous illegal parties held during lockdown between May and December 2020 when the country was under tight restrictions regarding social interaction.

Speaking to the BBC following the verdict, Fabricant angered educators and medical professionals across the country for suggesting that not only did the PM believe he was acting within the law but that he acted just “like many teachers and nurses who after a very long shift would go back to the staff room and have a quiet drink”.

The Royal College of Nursing calls Michael Fabricant's comments "demoralising and factually incorrect"https://t.co/j3MNqxYY0E https://t.co/vSGodJR9fm

— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) April 13, 2022

As alluded to above, the Royal College of Nursing General Secretary and Chief Executive Pat Cullen sent an official complaint to Oliver Dowden over Fabricant’s comments, labelling them “demoralising and factually incorrect”.

She went on to add that the comparison was beyond unfair given their continuous efforts on the frontline, despite still being “understaffed, underpaid, overworked, exhausted burnt out and still holding it together”.

The letter has also been sent to the party Chairman Oliver Dowden. The College will await the response on behalf of their half million respected nursing (voting) members. https://t.co/PxUMPrjyUo

— pat cullen (@patcullen9) April 12, 2022

While insisting that he was not invited to any of the reported 15 illegal parties that took place during lockdown restrictions, Fabricant remarked that their actions were understandable given that smuggling booze in through suitcases is “the only way you could actually get alcohol into Downing Street”, adding, “it’s not very dignified.”