Labour have accused Boris Johnson and other ministers of “clocking off” amidst the Conservative leadership election.
Shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy told Sky News on Monday morning that Johnson has “clearly clocked off” along with “many of the ministers in his government”.
Nandy argued that “today of all days” demonstrated her complaints regarding the government.
The Met Office have issued an unprecedented red extreme heat warning for Monday and Tuesday, with temperatures set to reach 41 Celsius across most of England.
Heavy disruption to transport is expected, along with pressure on health and social care services.
“You’ve got a group of candidates who are very much preoccupied with winning the votes of Conservative MPs and Conservative Party members and the rest of the country have been discarded,” she explained.
“Not only have a number of the candidates said that they want to scrap the commitment to net zero, but [also] levelling up, which was the big idea, the mandate, on which this government came to power in 2019.”
Boris Johnson did not attend last week’s Cobra meeting regarding the heatwave, instead holding a party at the PM’s Chequers residence.
He also failed to attend an emergency meeting on the matter last week.
Kit Malthouse, recently promoted to Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, told Sky News later that it was unfair to criticise Johnson’s decision.
“It’s my job to chair Cobra meetings,” Malthouse stressed, adding: “I briefed him yesterday morning at about 8am personally.”
Malthouse argued that it was “completely unfair” to claim Johnson was avoiding important work because of his impending departure as PM.
On Tuesday Grant Shapps also went out to bat for Boris Johnson, saying that the PM has not “checked out” following his resignation announcement.
Shapps, who did not resign along with scores of his ministerial colleagues earlier this month, told Sky News: “The prime minister is in charge. People think because it has ‘Cabinet Office Briefing Room’ ahead of it, it’s somehow more important than the Cabinet.”
“He’s been being briefed. I know you love this media narrative on it [but] it’s literally not true. In fact, exactly the opposite is the truth. He’s been interested in and involved in the details.”
When quizzed over Monday’s clip of Johnson flying on a Typhoon jet, shared on social media, Shapps stressed: “there is a war going on in Europe – why on earth would he not go and meet with the RAF?”
Tracy Nicholls, the chief executive of the College of Paramedics has warned that the UK is not prepared to handle the schedule temperatures, while deputy prime minister Dominic Raab has advised people to “enjoy the sunshine”.
The government’s deputy chief medical officer Thomas Waite told ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme that: “Most people who are in good health won’t run into difficulty if they’re taking precautions…Some people, particularly older people, or those who have existing cardiovascular illnesses and also very young children and babies are less able to regulate their heat.
However he suggested that “…We [must]think about how we prepare for these kind of summers,” going forward, as they have the potential to become more regular.
National Rail spokesperson Jake Kelly told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the speed to which rail services are restored by Wednesday will depend on what damage is inflicted by the preceding days’ high temperatures.
