Andrew Bridgen, who is to be tested for coronavirus, says parliament should have been closed to visitors

This article is more than 6 months old

This article is more than 6 months old

The MP Andrew Bridgen has criticised parliament’s response to Covid-19 after developing a cough and becoming the latest politician to self-isolate.

The MP for North West Leicestershire said he and his family, including his 18-month-old son, are due to be tested in the next 48 hours. He is self-isolating from constituents, carrying out work over the phone and Skype.

The Tory backbencher said he sat next to the health minister Nadine Dorries, who tested positive for the virus, last Thursday at a lunch in one of parliament’s tearooms.

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“Nadine emailed me and I’ve called 111 and a doctor is going to come out and test us. He’ll test me, my mother-in-law, who is 76, and my son Blake, who is 18 months.

“I’ve moved my son Blake’s cot out of my room to my mother-in-law’s while I’m coughing.”

His wife, Nevena, who is an opera singer, is due to return to the UK tomorrow after travelling to Belgrade in Serbia for a performance. He said he would arrange for someone else to collect her from the airport as he did not want to risk passing on his illness.

The MP said he had concerns that parliament was a place where the illness could easily spread because of the number of daily visitors, and that it should have been closed to visitors some time ago.

“I said two weeks ago we should have closed parliament to visitors,” he said. “Parliament is like an airport – we have got people coming in from all over the world.

“Security have said to me that they have to pat people down from all around the world. We should have stopped visitors coming here two weeks ago. It would only need to be temporary.

“I said to the whips office: ‘We are going to get it ever so quickly.’ It’s one of those buildings where we go out to every single part of the country too.”

Bridgen said all MPs should have been tested at the start of each working week to try to avoid mass contact between individuals who might have caught the virus.

Dorries has self-isolated at home and is now recovering from the coronavirus after falling ill last week. On the Wednesday before her symptoms began she had been at a reception to support International Women’s Day at Downing Street, which was also attended by the prime minister. Johnson is not showing any signs of symptoms.

Last night it emerged a cabinet minister had chosen to self-isolate and was awaiting results from a coronavirus test. The minister attended a Cobra emergency committee meeting with Johnson earlier in the week.

A second health minister, Edward Argar, has also self-isolated after dining with Dorries last Thursday; and the senior Conservative Sir Charles Walker has been tested and is awaiting results.

The Labour MP Rachael Maskell, who had a meeting with Dorries at her office, is self-isolating but has shown no signs of symptoms.

She tweeted: “Public Health England confirmed last night that I am to self-isolate until 19 March providing I remain asymptomatic. I have a stack of work to be getting on with and have moved my meetings to Skype and the phone.”

There are currently no plans to close parliament, which is visited by school groups, tourists and people attending events and receptions.

Authorities have met regularly to decide how to deal with the spread of the illness and are said to be basing decisions on the guidance coming from the government’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, with whom the Commons Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, is in regular contact.

There are up to 3,000 members of permanent staff. A parliament spokesperson, said: “We are aware of the importance of parliament and the need to keep it functioning as usual.

“There are no plans to suspend parliament; changes to the way parliament functions would be a matter for consultation between the Speakers, the government and the parliamentary authorities.

“The Speakers and political leadership of both houses are keeping the situation under constant review. Parliament continues to be guided by PHE in response to the situation.

“Parliamentary authorities are also developing contingency plans and considering what precautionary steps we might take to ensure the continuity of parliamentary business.”