SNP MP Angus MacNeil says he will not return to the Commons on June 2 as MPs have been told to by the Leader of the House.
This week MPs voted to shut down the virtual parliament system in less than two weeks – a decision the MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar has described as a “terrible calamity”.
Jacob Rees-Mogg insisted the Parliament will be “Covid-19 secure” by the start of next month, arguing the use of the digital proceedings had hindered “proper scrutiny” of the UK Government.
The Tory MP said he wanted MPs back in London the day after pupils in England are set to return to school. But MacNeil told The Herald that in reality education had little to do with the move – and it instead related to Boris Johnson’s “under-performance” at PMQs.
READ MORE: Anger as Scottish MPs are told to return to Westminster by June 2
Many commentators have pointed out the Prime Minister has struggled against Labour leader Keir Starmer’s “forensic” questioning during the Wednesday sessions, lacking support from his MPs who would normally cram onto the green benches and cheer him on.
Asked if he would go back to Westminster as Rees-Mogg had told members to, MacNeil said: “No. Not until it’s safe. I would not be forgiven in my constituency if I went to London and was infected by Covid-19.
“This doesn’t have to happen.
“This is again what happens when you are ruled by the Tories far away in London. This is nothing to do with health; this is to do with Boris’s under-performance at PMQs. A number of Tory MPs have told me that privately.”
READ MORE: Tory MP calls SNP ‘lazy’ for virtual parliament calls
Asked if Tories were risking a second wave of Covid-19 by shutting down the digital system, MacNeil said: “Yes. They are. It’s an unacceptably silly risk when there is a way round this and that’s the virtual Parliament at the moment. There is no reason to be doing this at all and it’s a very foolish thing to be doing.”
SNP MPs will meet next week to discuss their approach to the return, but it’s likely senior figures will head back due to important legislation, like the Immigration Bill, being due to go through Parliament in the next few weeks.
The Herald reported that no SNP MP would be forced back to London a some have underlying health conditions or are shielding with someone vulnerable at home.
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