Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Michael Gove has been accused of leaving his 11-year-old son alone in a hotel room whilst he and his wife went to a party

Michael Gove has given rise to debate after he left his son alone in a bed and breakfast for six hours in order to go to a party.

The Tory MP and Brexit campaigner attended an event hosted by the Times and Sunday Times to mark the end of the Cheltenham Literary Festival event with his wife Sarah Vine.

But the Sunday Mirror has claimed his 11-year-old child was found by a night porter at 1.30am, asking where his parents were.

Celebrities had tweeted about the event earlier this month, with comedian Armando Iannucci commenting on Mr Gove "busting moves" on the dance floor.

A friend of the Goves told the BBC: "(Their son) wanted to watch TV rather than go to a dinner with his parents, he's a mature and confident secondary school pupil so they were happy to leave him at the hotel under the supervision of staff.

"The dinner was at a sister hotel so staff could have easily passed messages if there were any issues. He was totally fine and there were no problems."

'Left to parents'

The law in the UK does not stop a parent from leaving their child at home alone, but it states that children must not be neglected or abandoned "in a manner likely to cause [them] unnecessary suffering or injury to health".

Image copyright Jupiter Images Image caption The decision to leave a child at home is left to the parents, but the NSPCC offers advice

An NSPCC spokesman said: "It can be a difficult decision to decide when children are old enough to be left alone and there are a whole host of things to think about.

"Parents need to consider whether a child would know what to do if something went wrong, and talk to their child and see if they are comfortable and confident about being left by themselves."

The charity's advice is that children under 12 should not be left at home alone for a long period of time because they are "rarely mature enough to cope in an emergency" and that children under the age of 16 are not left alone overnight.

Luxury B&B

The Goves were staying at No.38 The Park Luxury Bed and Breakfast in Cheltenham.

Andy Young, who runs the nearby Ravenhurst Luxury Bed and Breakfast with his wife, said: "Here, we have communal areas but we are not open to the public, so guests feel comfortable leaving a sleeping baby if they are in the next room or in the house.

"But we don't have guests who go out into Cheltenham for the evening and do that.

"Nor to our knowledge have any older children been left in a room. They are normally out doing fun activities with their family.

"I could see it if they were unwell, but in most cases for us, that means the family would cancel the trip."

The manager of No.38 The Park was contacted by the BBC but said she was not willing to comment.

Right or wrong?

Rachel Johnson, journalist and sister of Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, said she was with Mr Gove and his wife until 1.30am at the Cheltenham party.

Image caption Rachel Johnson told The Andrew Marr Show it was "absolutely fine" to leave the 11-year-old alone

Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr show, she said the couple had also left their two dogs which the boy was looking after, adding "I think it is absolutely fine."

Author Ian Rankin, who also appeared on the show, stood up for the politician as well.

"It is not much of a story," he said. "If I left my 11-year-old in a room, a) he wouldn't have left it as he would have been on his computer or watching DVDs, and b) he would have had a mobile phone and phoned his parents asking what time are you coming home."

But others have criticised the couple's actions.

Child protection campaigner Russ Martin said: "If true, one must question [Mr Gove's] parenting skills and his ability to parent. Many parents deal with social services on a daily basis and if they left their 11-year-old child in a hotel while they went off on a night out, all hell would break loose.

"How can Mr Gove be instrumental in policy development for child protection and education and then make a fundamental mistake like this?"