A TORY MP has gone viral after refusing to wear a face mask at PMQs this afternoon.
Jonathan Gullis was seen sitting diagonally behind Boris Johnson, jeering enthusiastically as the PM sparred with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
While masks are not compulsory in the Commons, many Conservative MPs who did not previously wear them began to do so in October when Speaker Lindsay Hoyle asked that they should in order to "pull together" to help reduce the spread of infection.
Imagine how 155,000 bereaved families feel looking at this. pic.twitter.com/0IzfntSVL1
— Tim Walker (@ThatTimWalker) January 27, 2022
After his appearance at PMQs was noted, Gullis said: "I am delighted that Plan B restrictions are coming to an end. I am proud to be triple-jabbed and take regular lateral flow tests.
"The guidance under Plan B was that face masks do not need to be worn in a place of work, which in my case includes the House of Commons chamber.
"It is disappointing that The Sentinel chooses to do a story based on a few tweets, rather than giving coverage to my PMQ from two weeks ago, where I lobbied for up to £90 million to come to Stoke-on-Trent to improve our bus services."
WHO IS JONATHAN GULLIS?
GULLIS has served as the MP for Stoke-on-Trent North since 2019.
At the time of his election, Gullis was employed as a school teacher and head of year at Fairfax Academy in Sutton Coldfield, and served as the school's trade union representative.
The 32-year-old described his classroom personality as "a mixture of Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg", and said that he "liked to play the character of an English gent".
Gullis attended Princethorpe College, an independent school in Warwickshire. He studied International Relations with Law at Oxford Brookes University and PGCE Secondary Citizenship at the UCL Institute of Education.
WHAT IS HIS VOTING RECORD LIKE?
IN October 2020 Gullis voted against extending free school meals to holidays, saying that he would not address a "baying mob" in response to an alleged planned protest during his visit to a church food bank.
In June 2020, Gullis introduced a Ten Minute Rule bill which would introduce custodial sentences of up to 14 years for those who desecrate war memorials.
Gullis has described Black Lives Matter as "a Marxist organisation that wants to abolish the nuclear family and defund the police".
Gullis is a staunch defender of the Prime Minister, saying he is a "fantastic individual", adding: “He’s someone who has delivered time and again for my constituents."
He has branded the Downing Street parties controversy a "London bubble" issue and has played down the significance of a police investigation.
He also claimed Labour’s "relentless" focus on whether Covid regulations were breached at Number 10 was crowding out other important issues.
HAS HE HAD ANY CONTROVERSIES?
MANY. In November last year, Gullis was accused of failing to show colleagues the respect they deserved during an urgent question on the surge in Channel crossings by migrants.
Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said: "Mr Gullis, you've been catching my eye far too often. If you don't behave I'll have a word with your mother."
In February 2021, Gullis was prevented by the Deputy Speaker from taking part in a debate in the House of Commons from home for being inappropriately dressed. Gullis changed into a shirt and jacket, and was then allowed to participate.
In May 2021, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards ordered Gullis to return £253.78 and apologise after breaking parliamentary rules by using "pre-paid House-provided stationery in a way that was contrary to the published rules which put the member in breach of the requirements of paragraph 16 of the code of conduct for members." Guillis confirmed this, returned the money, and apologised.
In October last year, a leaked report revealed that Gullis said people who use the term "white privilege" should be reported to the Home Office as extremists.
READ MORE: People using term 'white privilege' should be reported as extremists, Tory MP says
White privilege is the idea that people who are white benefit over non-white people with societal advantages.
During a question session at a fringe event of the Tory party conference, Gullis told the invited audience that people who use the term should be reported to the UK Government's Prevent programme, which is meant to track down potential terrorists.
The audio of the Stoke MP's remarks was shared with The Independent newspaper. He said: "The term white privilege - very quickly - is an extremist term, it should be reported to Prevent because it is an extremist ideology. It's racist to actually suggest that everyone who's white somehow is riddled with privilege."
In May 2020 Gullis was forced to apologise after attacking journalists for their “sick obsession” with UK’s coronavirus death toll.
The Tory MP hit out on social media after broadcaster James O’Brien said the media should not “sugar coat” the soaring number of deaths.
“Our death toll is now, by any measure, among the very worst in the world. Quite clearly as a result of political decisions and incompetence,” O’Brien said.
Gullis initially insisted the UK Government’s response “hasn’t been politically driven”.
In a follow-up, he wrote: “With regards to the media’s sick obsession over the total tragic deaths from Covid-19 you can’t lazily compare the total number when countries have different density, population size, age, demographics as well as some countries manipulating figures (like China) or underreporting.”
READ MORE: Tory MP Jonathan Gullis forced to apologise after media attack
After facing a backlash, he said: “In a tweet I said the media had a ‘sick obsession’ with the total deaths from Covid-19. I reacted to @mrjamesob poorly and I apologise for it. My point is that the media haven’t explored the complexity of wide ranging factors that are involved when trying to compare figures.”
O’Brien replied: “Next time, maybe run what you’re planning to tweet past the people who instructed you to do it?”
In October 2020, Gullis stated on his Facebook page that research by the National Maritime Museum into the Royal Navy's links to slavery was "leftwing ideological nonsense"
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