By Elizabeth Piper and Kate Holton
LONDON (Reuters) – A minister defended the government’s handling of Britain’s COVID-19 pandemic on Wednesday but admitted it may have made some mistakes, a day after almost 100 Conservatives dealt a blow to Prime Minister Boris Johnson by voting against new curbs.
Transport minister Grant Shapps sought to play down what was the largest rebellion against Johnson’s administration by lawmakers from his own party, saying it was not surprising that there were different views over the restrictions, dubbed draconian by many Conservatives.
He pointed out that the measures – implemented in response to the new Omicron variant and which include ordering people to wear masks in public places and use COVID-19 passes for some venues – were passed, despite much of the parliamentary backing coming from the opposition Labour Party.
But the refusal of scores of Conservative lawmakers to back Johnson despite a day of lobbying underlines the depth of anger not only over the new COVID-19 rules but also over a slew of scandals buffeting his government.
Shapps said governing was hard during a pandemic, but while ministers had not always got it right, at many other times they had, including Johnson’s call on Sunday for people to get boosters to protect themselves against what the prime minister has called a “tidal wave” of infections from Omicron.
Britain reported 59,610 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, the highest figure since January and the fifth highest during the pandemic.
“Governing is difficult, especially with something like coronavirus, there’s no textbook, there’s no manual to work through,” Shapps told Sky News.
“I think this government will have done some things where we haven’t got it right through coronavirus, we’ve also done some things where we’ve absolutely got it spot on.”
Tuesday’s vote piles pressure on Johnson, already under fire over scandals such as reported parties in his Downing Street office last year – when Britain was in a COVID-19 lockdown – and a pricey refurbishment of his apartment.
It also comes just before an election in central England on Thursday, a traditional Conservative seat that, some lawmakers say, could be lost to the Liberal Democrats.
Christmas could not come sooner for Johnson, who several lawmakers say should treat the rebellion and the upcoming by-election as a wake-up call and a chance to draw a line under weeks of scandals and self-inflicted missteps.
Late on Tuesday, the Mirror newspaper, which has reported that parties were held in Johnson’s Downing Street office during last year’s lockdown, published a picture of a party last year attended by Conservative aides breaking COVID-19 rules.
“It’s disgraceful to have a party like that,” Shapps said.
(Reporting by Kate Holton and Elizabeth Piper, Editing by Paul Sandle and John Stonestreet)
