Labour’s Wes Streeting took down rebellious Tory backbenchers today, telling them government ministers are “not Nazis”.
The shadow health secretary opened his speech in the Commons with an unusual defence of Conservative ministers who have come under fire from their own backbenchers.
Streeting highlighted comments by Tory MP Marcus Fysh who compared Covid health passes - aimed at limiting the spread of Omicron - to atrocities in Nazi Germany.
Streeting told the Commons: “It should not be for me as the shadow secretary of state to point out that we’re not living in the 1930s and the secretary of state and his team are not Nazis.
“On their shoulders rests the health of our nation and the responsibility to protect our NHS. Indeed, it’s a responsibility we all share.
“They need our support and they are owed better treatment than they’ve received from some on their own side in recent days and even this afternoon.”
Mr Streeting said Labour will “act in the national interest” by supporting the motions under consideration in the Commons.
He made the comments on Tuesday before MPs vote on Boris Johnson’s new Covid-19 restrictions to curb the spread of the Omicron variant.
They include working from home when you can, face masks in certain settings and what is being dubbed “vaccine passports” for large gatherings.
However, Tory MPs have been in open revolt with some touring the airwaves and writing columns on why they will be voting against the measures.
Fysh argued that the passes, which include being fully vaccinated or receiving a negative lateral flow test, would be “segregating society based on an unacceptable thing”.
“We are not a ‘papers please’ society. This is not Nazi Germany,” the MP told BBC Radio 5 Live.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews called his remarks “completely unacceptable” and he was criticised by a fellow Conservative rebel.
Tory MP Christian Wakeford, who plans to vote against the government alongside Fysh, responded: “Whilst I will be in the same lobby as Marcus, these types of comments are untrue, unhelpful, and truly deeply offensive to the Jewish community.
“Covid restrictions should never be compared to the darkest period in human history.”