Tory MP ‘out of order’ to tell anti-vaxxers to ‘persist’ against restrictions

Tory MP Sir Desmond Swayne also said that NHS capacity figures were being “manipulated” to exaggerate the scale of the pandemic

A Tory MP who has urged anti-vaccination campaigners to keep going with their fight against COVID-19 restrictions, telling them that NHS capacity figures are being “manipulated” is “wrong” and “completely out of order”, senior minister Michael Gove has said.

Mr Gove said: “Sir Desmond is wrong. I work with Sir Desmond, I have great affection for him but I’m afraid here he is completely out of order.”

He added: “I would hope that he issues a full and complete retraction and apology for what he said – it’s unacceptable.”

This comes after the Prime Minister is heading up to Scotland on a one-day trip aimed at highlighting the value of the United Kingdom in working together to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr Johnson’s controversial visit is part of a Conservative fightback against polls suggesting that there is growing support for Scottish independence, as well as support for Ms Sturgeon’s threat to hold an advisory referendum.

Responding to Mr Gove’s comments, Sir Desmond told the Press Association: “I have always had a great deal of respect for Michael but I’m not sure precisely what I’m being asked to apologise for.”

“I’m evangelical in my support for the vaccination programme.”

“As for my complaints for masking and the use of data, I’m on the record, I’ve said all of those things in the House of Commons.”

“My remarks to them on those subjects mirror what I’ve said in the House of Commons. I was completely unaware that any of them had any traction on anti-vaxx and no anti-vaxx entered into the conversation I had with them.”

Sir Desmond, who was a senior aide to the former Prime Minister David Cameron, has said that he would not be apologising for telling a group, which says that vaccines are dangerous, to “persist” with its campaign against the nation-wide COVID-19 restrictions.

During an interview in November with Save our Rights UK, obtained by Sky News, he said: “It seems to be a manageable risk, particularly as figures have been manipulated… We’re told there is a deathly, deadly pandemic proceeding at the moment.”

“That is difficult to reconcile with ICUs (intensive care units) actually operating at typical occupation levels for the time of year and us bouncing round at the typical level of deaths for the time of year.”

This comes after UK nationals and residents who are returning from “red list” countries will be subject to quarantine measures within government-provided accommodation, such as hotels, for 10 days, The Prime Minister has told MPs.

Desmond also gave an interview just two weeks ago to notorious anti-vaxxer Del Bigtree, who was a producer for the Andrew Wakefield anti-vaccine propaganda film entitled Vaxxed.

In this interview, Sir Desmond claimed that Britain had become “a police state” and was accusing the UK government, of which he is a part of, of attempting to implement “social control”, while the anti-vaxxer praised the Tory MP as a “hero”.

He said: “There are aspects of this (the government’s actions) which I’m certain come down to social control, like the wearing of masks, the medical case you’ve just rubbished it earlier this evening.”