Jacob Rees-Mogg has told Andrew Marr to “get a sense of perspective” after the broadcaster revealed his “intense anger” about his father’s death at the same time as alleged Downing Street parties took place.
Speaking to the Brexit opportunities minister on the day Boris Johnson apologised to parliament for lockdown rule-breaking, Marr recalled Rees-Mogg’s description of partygate as “fluff”.
He said on his LBC show: “I buried my father on the week that one of those parties took place, and it was a party.
“And he was an elder of the Church of Scotland – that church was locked and barred. We had a small gathering, most of the family weren’t there.
“The other parishioners that he would have loved to be there weren’t allowed to be there because we followed the rules, and I felt intensely angry about that – and I do not regard this as fluff.”
In response, Rees-Mogg argued: “What is happening now two years on against what’s going on in Ukraine, what is going on with the cost of living crisis, one has to get a sense of perspective.
“What is going on in Ukraine is fundamental to the security of the Western world.
“And you are comparing this to a fine issued for something that happened two years ago.”
He added: “In comparison to the war in Ukraine – with a fundamental threat to the safety of the West from Putin – a fine for something that happened two years ago is not the most pressing political matter.”
His comments follow criticism of the PM for using the war in Ukraine as a “political shield” against partygate accusations.
Amid Tory discontent, with former chief whip Mark Harper telling Johnson he is no longer “worthy” of being premier, the PM bundled together his explanation for the fixed-penalty notice with Vladamir Putin’s “barbaric onslaught against Ukraine”.
He suggested the “angry and disappointed” the British public felt over partygate meant he had an “even greater sense of obligation” to lead the country’s response to the war.
Johnson insisted on Tuesday that he had not knowingly mislead parliament when he told MPs that the lockdown rules had been followed in Downing Street at all times.
In response, Keir Starmer branded Johnson “a man without shame” after the prime minister insisted he will not resign.
Starmer said “the public have made up their mind – they don’t believe a word the prime minister says”.
The Labour boss said the PM’s attempts to save his job had resulted in “good ministers forced to walk away from public service, the chancellor’s career up in flames and the leader of the Scottish Conservatives rendered pathetic”.
Starmer added: “He knows he’s dishonest and incapable of changing, so he drags everybody else down with him.”