This archive report was first published on 18 July 2021.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak faced intense criticism for their initial plan to participate in a pilot program that would have allowed them to continue working at Downing Street while self-isolating. The program, announced on July 18, was intended to test the feasibility of daily testing for COVID-19 among government officials.
However, the plan sparked outrage, with many pointing out that it was unfair for senior officials to be treated differently than the general public. By 11 a.m. in London, just three hours after the original statement, both men backed off and announced they would self-isolate as normal.
On Sunday, July 18, Mr. Johnson released a video on Twitter in which he said that he and Mr. Sunak had considered taking part in the pilot program, but that they had decided it was “far more important that everybody sticks to the same rules, and that’s why I’m going to be self-isolating until the 26th of July.”
Mr. Sunak also took to Twitter, stating that “whilst the test and trace pilot is fairly restrictive, allowing only essential government business, I recognise that even the sense that the rules aren’t the same for everyone is wrong.” He added that he would be self-isolating as normal and not taking part in the pilot.
