The Speaker was not holding back this afternoon when asked by Sir Edward Leigh about Boris Johnson’s 6 p.m. Covid press conference. Lindsay Hoyle laid into the government from the Speaker’s chair, accusing ministers of disrespecting parliament for failing to inform the House first of all changes to Covid restrictions. Indeed he even claimed that parliament was originally not going to be updated on the changes until tomorrow before the Speaker put his foot down and ordered a statement tonight.
The mild-mannered Hoyle did not hold back, telling members: ‘This House needs to know first. I find it totally unacceptable that once again, we see Downing Street running roughshod over members of parliament.’ In a sign of how badly relations have deteriorated between the Speaker and the government, he even accused ministers of ‘misleading the House’ — a charge so serious it traditionally warranted resignation.
You can watch Hoyle’s dramatic intervention below:
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