THE UK Communities Secretary is facing criticism after it emerged he breached lockdown restrictions to visit his parents.
Robert Jenrick, who has urged people to remain at home at multiple televised Coronavirus briefings, drove more than 40 miles from his own home in Shropshire to drop off food and medication, according to The Guardian.
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Mr Jenrick, 38, was reportedly spotted by a neighbour, however a source close to the minister told the newspaper he had not entered the property.
He later posted on Twitter to say that he had "respected social distancing rules" during the visit and only made the journey to deliver vital supplies.
For clarity - my parents asked me to deliver some essentials - including medicines.
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) April 9, 2020
They are both self-isolating due to age and my father's medical condition and I respected social distancing rules.https://t.co/XlRujT8S5Y
The Guardian reported Mr Jenrick’s parents, aged 79 and 69, live more than an hour away from his home in Shropshire.
It comes just days after Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer Catherine Calderwood resigned over pictures of a family trip to her second home in the Fife village of Earlsferry appearing in a national newspaper.
On Mother’s Day, Mr Jenrick told Sky News: “I know it’s Mother’s Day and I know it’s tough and it goes against everything that we want to do as a family but don’t go and see your mum. Give her a phone call, Skype her, FaceTime her, tell her that you love her and that we’re going to get through this together.”
The Friday before the trip took place, he posted a similar warning on Twitter, writing: "If you are considering going out this weekend, please don’t, unless it’s for work (where you cannot work from home), health reasons, food shopping or exercise. We need to stay at home to protect the NHS and save lives.”
Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Friday morning, shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said it would be "up to" Mr Jenrick to explain his actions.
READ MORE: Dr Catherine Calderwood resigns after breaking lockdown rules twice
He said: "There are the four reasons for leaving your house. One of them is to deliver essential supplies to vulnerable people.
“Clearly if that is what Robert Jenrick has done, then it fits within the four exceptions. It is for him to answer precisely what the purpose of the journey he undertook was.”
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