Tory MP writes to each authorities division asking them to scrap all their Covid precautions

A Conservative MP has individually written to each authorities division urging them to scrap all their inner Covid-19 precautions.

Philip Davies, the MP for Shipley, despatched a minimum of 15 letters to ministers throughout Whitehall on the finish of February.

In every similar written message he urged the “division and its companies take away all inner Covid-19 associated insurance policies, restrictions and masks mandates”.

Departments Mr Davies needs to drop all coronavirus precautions embrace Training, Well being, and the Ministry of Defence – his calls for embrace scrapping mitigations in departmental companies like Jobcentres.

Mr Davies is a longstanding opponent of sure measures to include Covid. In December he described mask-wearing as “one of many worst examples of the suffocation of our fundamental freedoms”.

His newest push comes regardless of nearly all Covid-related legals necessities on people being scrapped by the federal government , together with the requirement to self-isolate when infectious.

Not all departments have but written again to Mr Davies, however none have to date agreed to his strategy.

“The Authorities’s Working Safely steering, which was revised on 24 February 2022, continues to require organisations to hold out a threat evaluation which incorporates the chance from COVID-19,” mentioned well being minister Edward Argar, responding for the Division of Well being and Social Care.

“It additionally units out extra actions organisations can take to guard staff within the office, comparable to making certain sufficient air flow, frequent cleansing, asking individuals to clean their fingers steadily and asking individuals with COVID-19 to remain away.

“The steering advises that folks proceed to put on face coverings in crowded and enclosed settings the place they arrive into contact with individuals they don’t usually meet, when charges of transmission are excessive. Civil Service employers will proceed to comply with this steering and align their insurance policies accordingly.”

In one other typical response, transport minister Andrew Stephenson mentioned his division would proceed “making certain sufficient air flow, frequent cleansing, asking individuals to clean their fingers steadily and asking individuals with COVID-19 to remain away” – consistent with authorities steering.

Layla Moran, chair of the All-Social gathering Parliamentary Group on coronavirus, informed The Unbiased: “At a time of worldwide disaster we shouldn’t be losing time and power making an attempt to cease civil servants from carrying masks.

“Studying to reside with Covid should not imply residing as if Covid doesn’t exist and positively it doesn’t imply prematurely eradicating fundamental mitigation measures, notably as we be taught extra in regards to the debilitating impacts of Lengthy Covid.”