Jacob Rees-Mogg said people should “get a perspective” after TV cameraman Andrew Marr spoke of his “strong anger” over his father’s death at a time when Downing Street was holding parties to block the blockade.
In the Tuesday edition of his LBC program Tonight, just hours after Boris Johnson apologized to the Municipality for violating the blocking rules, Mr Marr said: “I buried my father the week one of these parties took place and it was party.
“He was an elder of the Church of Scotland – this church was locked and closed. We had a small gathering, most of the family was not there. The other parishioners he would like to be there could not be there because we followed the rules.
“And I felt very angry about it – and I don’t think it’s fluff.”
Mr Rees-Mogg, the government’s Brexit opportunity minister, initially avoided answering the host’s thesis, instead saying it was a “big mistake” to close churches.
He continued: “What is happening now two years later, against what is happening in Ukraine, what is happening with the crisis in the cost of living, one must get a sense of perspective.
“What is happening in Ukraine is fundamental to the security of the Western world. And you compare that to a fine issued for something that happened two years ago.
Marr said he was “very angry” about Partygate’s revelations
(LBC)
He added: “I think we need to look at what is fundamental to the security of our nation and the security of the Western world.”
Mr Marr, who recently joined the LBC after 22 years at the BBC, pressured Mr Rees-Mogg to use his tongue in response to Partygate’s revelations, which he dismissed as fluff.
He said: “I’m really sorry, but considering what happened to my family and I only use it because it has happened to so many others up and down the country … I would say that word fluff is quite offensive.”
Johnson apologized to the Commons on Tuesday
(Jessica Taylor / Parliament of the United Kingdom)
The minister eventually said he did not regret using the word fluff, although the prime minister had now been fined by police.
He said: “I still think that compared to the war in Ukraine … a fine for something that happened two years ago is not the most pressing political issue. The headline of the Daily Mail said, “Remember, there is a war,” and that’s something we need to remember – we need a sense of perspective. “
He added that while the prime minister lamented the grieving families, “all deaths are sad”, including those not caused by Covid.
Add Comment