A CONSERVATIVE politician has been accused of "not having a clue" over whether Brits can see family and friends under new lockdown rules.

Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan said "there is no clarity" as Burton Upon Trent MP Andrew Bridgen advised him that he could see his sons if he adhered to social distancing measures.

The journalist, from Newick, said: "This is the problem Andrew Brigden, what you've just said is completely against the new rules as stated.

"So there you are, a Conservative MP, who thinks you know exactly what Boris Johnson has been saying, and yet you've just told me to do something I'm not allowed to do.

"This is the problem, isn't it? There is no clarity, it's a load of old flannel talking about 'controlling the virus' and you as a leading, high-profile Conservative politician haven't got a clue about what these rules actually mean."

The Argus:

This comes after the Prime Minister's update on Sunday evening with a series of contradictory interviews given by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab the following morning.

With people having gone without seeing relatives for seven weeks or more, many were keen to know if they could meet with loved ones again as Boris Johnson laid out his "roadmap" of how the UK would gradually lift lockdown measures.

Yesterday morning, in an interview with the BBC, Dominic Raab appeared to confirm that families could meet if they used "common sense".

He said: "If you go out of (your) home to the park for exercise or whatever it may be, you can go with members of your own household.

“If you’re out in the park and you’re two metres apart, we’re saying, now, if you use some common sense and you socially distance then you can meet up with other people."

The Argus:

When quizzed on whether somebody would be allowed to meet one relative in the morning and another in the afternoon, he answered: “Outside, in the outdoors, if you stay two metres apart, yes.”

But the Government has been forced to clarify that people could not meet up with two relatives at the same time.

An aide said: "They can see both parents, but not at the same time – they would have to see them individually."

It has also been said that these new rules only apply in public spaces.

The Argus:

Piers Morgan said: "Now they are having to apologise, the government, and clarify that Dominic Raab who had just told tens of millions of people to go and see their parents at the same time, now apparently you can't.

"What a total disgrace. How many people will now be infected because they only heard him on the Today programme and go off and see their parents?

"And maybe kill them? Do they not understand how dangerous this is? How serious it is? It's a total shambles."

  • The coronavirus Sussex Crisis Fund has been set up to help those affected by the pandemic. The Argus’s charity and American Express have each donated £50,000 to kick-start the appeal. Grants will usually be for up to £5,000. More information is available at www.sussexgiving. org.uk/apply. To donate visit www.totalgiving.co.uk/appeal/sussexcrisisfund