A Conservative MP has defended Boris Johnson and suggested it was likely NHS staff had also been "letting their hair down" during the Covid pandemic.
In her 37-page report, senior civil servant Ms Gray said many events "should not have been allowed" and the PM and his officials "must bear responsibility for this culture".Reacting to the report, Mr Bacon said: "The fact that [Mr Johnson] goes round thanking his staff for working very, very hard, 18 hours a day, to try and keep the show on the road when we were in a global pandemic is not, I think, a crime.
"We were under extraordinary pressure in a global pandemic where we didn't really know what we were dealing with."Analysis: Nikki Fox, BBC Look East health correspondent
I'm too polite to say what I really feel about this post!🤬. I've worked for the ambulance service through the Pandemic. Wasn't any time to let our hair down. Don't try to avoid the issue by pointing the finger at other people. Find the guts your boss has fess up and apologise!
Shocking
Let my hair down When, in-between pissing? We were all shattered. Finished our shift and went home and slept, back in the next day! Get real!
Anyone who worked as hard as the NHS staff and some government staff were entitled to let their hair downtown to de-stress to a certain amount. It’s a shame some of the civil servants went far too far with such dreadful behaviour.
Come work with me on an ambulance for a shift. Let my hair down, I think not. By the end, that excuse for hair on your head will have fallen out.
How dare he accuse NHS staff of breaking the rules that the Tory party made and broke themselves. Absolutely disgusting.
Conservatives really do live in another world & always blame someone else. richardbaconmp suggesting nhs partied during lockdowns. BorisJohnson was PM & made the laws he then broke. Then lied to parliament. I’m sure your constituents will note you condone breaking the law.
This party & its politicians have no shame. They are guilty & instead of taking responsibility they deflect & re-direct onto others. Absolutely vile. There was no parties for staff on the front line who obeyed their rules & lived everyday in fear.
We were too busy trying to avoid others for their own safety while working with covid+ patients, some NHS workers also died, you should retract that statement & apologise richardbaconmp BBCLookEast
I was too bloody knackered to party. I gave up annual leave to cover shifts. I cried a lot. The nhs is void of disco balls and their sandwiches aren't great.
How dare you😡
Just read this………….not sure I believe what I am reading. I do hope that when it comes to GE time that they grill Mr Bacon 🥓 on the doorstep and if they don’t like the taste of his answers then they ditch him for a more palatable option. total insult to NHS teams NoRespect
How low can these critters go? The privilege they believe they have!? They should be ashamed to make accusations without evidence. We have evidence that this Government are criminals! They are there to set an example!
Disgraceful unfounded slur coming from Mr Bacon
This man doesn't have a clue what he is talking about just like all the other MP's in government. They are just trying to blame others for their own mistakes. They need to wake up to the real world. They all make me sick.
So offensive to all NHS staff who worked throughout the pandemic
NHS worker - no parties here! 3 family funerals in June 2020 with restricted numbers and no wake. We followed the rules 😡
He is not the first MP to make statements this this… where is the evidence?
Obviously thinks they are as bent as him
oh yea, poor them, first get your act in order before pointing fingers at others. Shameless politicians.
No 10 was working 18 hour days? Wine o'clock was at 4pm, so they started at 10pm the night before ..... its like a 4 Yorkshire men skit
Utterly disgraceful behaviour by this MP and their kind. NHS staff have been run ragged, underpaid, screwed over by PPE and more.
Bacon by name, gammon by nature.
Alannobbs Me working in ITU letting my hair down. I had sent my daughter to live with my mother in law as I was terrified I would bring something home.
What else would you expect from a conservative MP
I literally stopped leaving the house (outside of commuting to / from work) because I was so afraid of contracting covid & passing this onto my patients or colleagues. I didn't even leave the house for our sanctioned one-hour outside time for exercise. I was so afraid.
Offensive arse 🤬
Correct evidenced by TicTok
They can't afford to do that you mong
I look forward to the evidence.
And does any of this actually matter in the grand scheme of things? NO! IT REALLY DOESN'T - MOVE ON!
Bacon by name gamma and by nature
What an appalling and indefensible comment from Richard Bacon.
And the award for the most insulting and offensive comment of the year goes to… I can only imagine him and his colleagues are writing the next best seller: “How not to lead: toxic leadership before, during, and after a pandemic”
Even of they were two wrongs don't make a right,
People were Stressed the government, Labour party the NHS, people in general. Let it go now for goodness sake and move on!!!!
You shouldn't let him say that without asking for specific examples. And if he can't come up with any, don't air the interview! (I understand that if it was live, not airing it isn't an option, but then call him out until he admits that we're not all as depraved as the Tories)
Probably because hairdressers were closed
I am sorry to say this but we have many people in this country who manipulated the rules for Covid to their advantage. Yes not everybody did so but I bet it was more than 50% of the country's population who did which would means we have a whole lot of hypocrites here in the UK
Work in Gladgow royal.....I can assure you nobody was drinking in the hospital.....
Vile disgusting man!! 🤢
So to distract from Johnson we are now whipping up hate for NHS staff who were saving lives whilst the people criticising them were probably safely sat at home waiting on Ocado deliveries.
Can he be sued for slander?
🤡😡
Shameless but typical of BorisJohnson Conservatives
theJeremyVine So what if they did the same with MPs the pressure they were under to make the right decisions they deserved to let there hair down and I bet most of the people moaning about them broke the rules themselves
Proof ? As a supposed journalistic organisation you’re supposed to verify the information. Sue Gray has verified what Johnson & his gang were up to
A journalist would have made him wish he'd kept his mouth shut. They used to have some journalists at the BBC, before they were replaced by courtiers.
ToriesDevoidOfShame ToriesUnfitToGovern JohnsonLiedPeopleDied JohnsonOut123 ToriesPartiedWhilePeopleDied
What a pillock U are Mr Bacon , trying to compare the hard working NHS staff who risked their lives during the pandemic with . I doubt having seen the bruised faces from having to wear H & S face masks etc , that they felt more than wanting to sleep than a party
I fucking doubt it, they was far to busy saving every cunt! Developing drinking alone problems to cope with the horrific stress of the shit, impossible position they are in!! This whole shit show is the governments faults end of discussion........
Sorry that politicians are saying things like this about those who gave up so much to care for folks. Here in the US we had a politician say night nurses sat around and played cards all night at work. Shameful to trashtalk healthcare staff.
They must think everyone else has their poor standards. The government were supposed to be handling a pandemic not getting smashed at parties.
If you had any doubts of the hypocrisy of all those Conservative MPs lining up to applaud the NHS workers risking their lives during the thick of the pandemic and thousands a day dying, you shouldn’t have any now.
I doubt they could claim it on expenses.
What a fud!!!
What, another ToryScum has said this? Feck them all
richardbaconmp are you for real🤷♂️🤷♂️
Another from the same mold as Fabricant. NotMovingOn
Yep. Some certainly had a birthday cake . But who cares .
Are you joking? All of you lot need sacking!!
When you keep hearing the same claptrap from tory then it is time that during summer recess there sent out for 4 weeks to do community work chosen by there constituents to remind them who they serve and are elected for.
Plank 🙄
Plus all those people at the funeral wakes, just letting their hair down.
Looks more like gammon to me 🤔
How dare he!
Geoff_McGivern Nurses union should sue for defamation.
This is the most out of touch take I’ve heard yet. You are a disgrace Mr Bacon.
Not quite the party you had
What is the fucking matter with these people, they really believe that everyone behaves like them, so far out of touch.
One of his rasher statements.
What the actual
Freak
Does he have evidence?
They say you can't judge a book by its cover but these repulsive people actually do look as bad as they sound.
Hard to know what to say about this pathetic excuse for a human. He fits all those Tory tropes though. He really is one of them.
When is gammon Bacon? When it’s Richard Bacon trotting out pig swill. JohnsonOut122 NotMovingOnTillJohnsonHasGone
What an embarrassment.
What a bellend
What a ridiculous statement, let’s not take responsibility. No evidence of NHS staff but hey it must have happened and it takes the pressure off the government. Keep digging I’m sure I can still see the top of your head.
Someone say it for me. I can’t afford anymore swear pot donations today.
How dare he?
The state of it
Bit short of time, energy & money for partying richardbaconmp but maybe a career change into politics is the way to remedy that! 😒
It takes me 2 days to recover from 70 hours as a working nurse. I am not sure if I even have hair to let down. They need to wise up and get out of their pretentious bubble.
How dare he, how dare, how dare he… I’m lost for words, no cure for stupidity.
Richard Bacon
rp69a - do you get why so many frontline workers feel utterly fed up with the Tory party? Wow, what a line to take - when you think these ethically-free entitled politicians can sink no lower, they just keep digging in. We need a written consistition and proper checks & balances
Richard Gammon hasn't got a clue.
Gammon B*stard
Anyone that believes that NHS staff were all perfect outside of work might want to think again. I’ve heard stories about them holding parties, I’m confident it was happening across the country.
He’s just an attention seeking cretin, looking to be noticed by Johnson along with Gullis and the rest of those UKIP vile 2019 MP’s
Here's a link to some of the many dedicated Healthcare professionals who died of Covid after caring for patients, one of them my former GP I'm sure their families will be comforted by your words, you scrofulous binfire of wankery.
You've obviously vbeen chatting with famous MP an Epidemic Consultant Mr Fabricant.
You see, one of the many, many differences between NHS staff and Conservative MPs, is that NHS staff have integrity.
Perhaps he’d like to do a shift or come and see the shed I slept in to protect my family. richardbaconmp
I’d laugh if this wasn’t so insulting! Prick
Prove it Bacon or resign.
Tories are so hateable.
Bacon by name pig by nature.
They also found plenty of time to practice and perform their ridiculous TikTok videos, and who was looking after the patients when they were all outside hospitals being filmed and gathering on bridges for the Thursday 8 o’clock clap.
he in a glass house shouldn't throw stones - disgraceful.
Judging by all the tik took videos in lock down he's right
If he truly believes that it shows just how out of touch they are. Shame on people of Shropshire for voting him in.
The Tories are seeing the Gravy Train raising steam in preparation to leave the Tory station and they will abuse & blame anyone but themselves for deliberately destroying the U.K.
It's true many of them were as there wards/depts weren't seeing patients.
How is this a defence of Johnson? richardbaconmp
We all know they were busy.... making tictok videos 🙄
Please stop repeating the sh*te that comes out of a toilet. Thank you from a licence payer.
They film themselves clapping for NHS staff, then turn on them when it suits.
Yes, Richard. As they watched several people die of COVID, wearing only a bin bag, because you failed to supply adequate levels of PPE, I'm sure they were all so keen to raise a glass and enjoy some cheese and wine. Utter scumbag. Get the Tories out and never let them return.
The Tories have no shame
Bellend
How dare they🤬
Wow, how out of touch 😳
Richard Bacon, your are a complete and utter M..on
Says complete twit
Nice clickbait and misrepresentation! If you read the article, what he actually said was that probably a few people in the NHS, qualified as the biggest civilian staff in Europe broke the rules. We've some staff who flush paper towels down toilets let alone abide by covid rules!
Of course they were. This definitely isn't an attempt to deflect, honest.
Is he taking the p*ss
Oh ffs give it a rest bbc
His nickname at school had encouraged a future PM ' DICK A PIG '
And where is your evidence for this!
What a ducking tunt. Typical judging normal people by their own appalling standards
What the hell is he on
JaneyGodley As a nurse for more than 40 years I can assure you I have never consumed alcohol in the workplace. Never.
Bacon about right for a Tory fuckalltories
Likely but not proven? Weak excuse then.
He should resign. Did he not get the fact that Fabricant tried that a fortnight ago and had to retract very quickly!
richardbaconmp you insulting mendacious venal excuse for a human being. How DARE you insult the many many thousands of people risking their lives every single day to care for people and try and save their lives. They followed the rules. They worked tirelessly. Where were you?
They can't conceive of anyone acting ethically because they have a moral core
Why would he say that? Oh yeah sorry - to attempt to normalise what's not normal. So the headline should read 'Tory's sick ploy to excuse abuse of privilledge'
theJeremyVine 1.He said, 'If you tried hard enough,' implying he has absolutely no evidence. 2.If they did they'd have some defense - A. They were dealing with daily deaths under horrendous circumstances. B. They were taking their own life in their hands. C.They didn't make the rules.
THIS IS WHAT THE NHS STAFF WERE DOING.
Man…what is wrong with these Tories. They need to shut up.
Despicable.
How dare he!
richardbaconmp maybe you’d better provide proof of this claim or withdraw it and apologise.
The vast majority of the NHS was closed for business so no need to “let their hair down”.
what a nasty piece of work!!
Can't people who have been comforting the dieing, saving as many lives as possible, and working double shifts have a moment of jollity to break up the misery? It probably stopped them cracking up completely
Just stop. FFS.
How offensive! Get him gone South Norfolk.
What he actually said here was the rules were wrong and because others broke rules it was fine, and so he backs Boris?! And insulted NHS workers. What the actual... partygate
Way to try and deflect, sleezy
I’m sick of these MPs , I’m sick of the people who voted for them too , I am sick of the whole damned immoral , greedy , self serving lot !
Note the word 'likely' - because this is how they tell you LIES.
They just don't know when to shut the Hell up do they?
Seriously, if you vote Tory....why?
Not this again. Fabricant tried this a few weeks ago. Have they forgotten this card has been played?
Ah, but he’s a pompous c*nt!
And here it is, the conservative let's deflect from our major wrongdoings, and let's hit the NHS staff with lies and mistruths. Hippocrates and bully's. GetThemOut
Tory Policy. Point the finger at other people and claim they did the same.
That is an idiotic assertion
Really? Not my experience. What a despicable, ignorant joke of a human. Come on Norfolk do the right thing, get rid.
As we would say in Welsh a 🥕
Pig Shit and Bacon. In this case what is the difference?
He'll be bacon come the general election and be handed his P45. These MPs are an absolute disgrace.
Noname06401912 The dead cat
Why judge everyone else by your own very low standards?
RichardBacon wow you have some nerve 😳
Disgusting horses arse! How dare it!
All this tell us is he obviously had many gatherings and just reckons everyone else did it, the cesspit of the Tory party knows no bounds.
Unchallenged by the BBC?
Disgusting
What an oaf!
I've had to stop reading Tory MPs posts. I'm running out of sickbags
Irrelevant
What an odious little man he is. Just like Fabricant. I have family members who worked on NHS frontline during the height of the pandemic & now. I know of their sacrifices & struggles. I doubt he's ever faced such struggles. Shameful but not unexpected from ToryTrash
Desperate
Disgraceful comment but no shock fromTory MP. How do the working class people in England vote for this Party. 😡
Doesn't matter what anyone says rules are rules for everybody including government and NHS workers
Shameful and shameless. NotMovingOnTillJohnsonHasGone
here they go again. chucking the dead cat on the table to outrage everyone into forgetting. we aren't going to forget.
Bacon by name, pig by nature 🐽 it’s disgusting how quickly the Tories have turned on the NHS … they probably all stood at their doors and clapped every week. 🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻 Conservatives sort your shit out. Or get out!
Not until 3.30 am then puking in the flowerbed though
juebertie Evidence please, not cheap shots. JohnsonOut122 MakeHimGo
Of course they did as did many others who were in work bubbles and you know what, fair play to them. I don’t care that they did this and not do I care that people working in government did. The only reason I care that Starmer and co did is because if the way they have cried!
richardbaconmp My nurse wife caught longcovid on her ward in the 1st wave & still isn't well enough to resume duties. Which is lucky for you, as it means she's also not well enough to drive to your constituency and challenge you face-to-face over your insulting opinion
Tory MPs think everyone else is as bad as them
There's another who will lose his seat......
None of the hospital workers I know had time to relax let alone see their families … as they did their best to protect them …
Disgusting, baseless smear.
Just what has the NHS got to do with Law Breakers in No 10. I think Bacon needs to stay in the Frying Pan. Partygate
Who the hell are these people? (The Tories I mean, not the NHS.) From the multiple hospital visits I had during 2020, at not one did I see staff doing anything other than working flat out.
from my understanding of infection control policies we are quite literally not allowed to have our hair down.
This declaration is disgusting!
The regime does like its gaslighting doesn't it.? This criminal gang should be proscribed as a clear threay to UK citizens and our democracy. I honestly cannot think of a terrorist organisation that has damaged the UK and its people more than these crooks in my 66 years.
Aww Richard. This link may help you understand what's happening inside your own head.
Classic case of ‘Whataboutism’.
NHS staff are not law makers, but from PM down(MPs , ministers) are elected to represent and make decisions for us to follow not to break them. This MP is trying to distract our attention from the main topic.
Another Cory Tunt
Christ, he looks like he's made of Bacon
They were... Well the ones I know
Stop slandering people who actually do good tory filth
Jesus Christ, what exactly are these people
The Tories have come up with a policy dealing with'Partygate'&'Monkeypox' it'll solve all their problems.They call it'Monkeypox Parties'same as the old chickenpox parties to spread immunity amongst population.If they close society down because of Monkeypox then Im going Apeshit.
How is it, Dick, we aren’t all driving at 130mph, burgling houses, dealing drugs & cheating our tax returns? How? Other people are! I am so sick of Tories believing we’re all quite as hideously immoral and selfish as they are.
How dare he compare NHS staff with hid own corrupt, dishonest colleagues ToryCriminalsUnfitToGovern ToryCorruption
Oh shut up and get lost with playground talk…
philmcnulty Anything to justify the c**t of a leader he supports. Hopefully the people that voted for him will not make the same mistake again
What a pratt
Bacon is a shameless toady. This is incredibly offensive. Makes things worse rather than better. And shows they just don't care. ToryCriminalsUnfitToGovern JohnsonOut122 NotMovingOn
herdirtytoes We didn’t.
Didn’t a certain follicly challenged Tory MP make the same claims before having to backpedal furiously 🤔
JaneyGodley There are absolutely no word’s!! What an absolute tosser.
NHS staff suggest that Bacon is a “complete throbber”, an allegation he’s yet to refute.
Nothing to see here, just ToryMPs Richard Bacon gaslighting the entire nhs. Did he see the stress people were under and the sacrifices they made for us? They literally have no shame and no integrity
Bacon by name, Bacon by nature. PIG
I look forward to the New Years Honours List announcement, Sir Richard Bacon MP - for services to whataboutery.
It’s also “likely” he’s a Tw&t!
What is it with these nasty tories? Anything to distract from Johnson'misdemeanours.
philmcnulty Knowing a few NHS staff and knowing what they went through, the hours worked and suffices made all I can say is **** this guy
Have you No Shame Bacon? Your parroting and mimicking your Leader's clinging to the wreckage is macabre your deflection of equivalence to the heros and heroines of he NHS whom we celebrate still is low.
Just shows the utter contempt they have for front line workers and everyone else who obeyed the law
Really?
What the actual…
philmcnulty Another puppet tool of Johnson’s. Low blows at NHS staff which saved your ass. Grow a backbone. This govt is beyond help if it thinks this is ok.
Yep, NHS staff let their hair down by removing full PPE and staying in separate rooms and sometimes homes to their family
Is this guy for real? How does he represent anyone? Seriously. This is getting beyond a joke now. They are pushing people into a corner now with their behaviour. They have to be very careful before people start pushing back
Wanker
How could anyone slur the sainted NHS?
They had big time. Few were busy. But the rest especially in specific words had been doing FA.
Bacon doing his bit to save the PM’s bacon.
SHAME ON YOU.
philmcnulty They were too busy caring after people dying of Covid you pillock.
philmcnulty This lot are gone at the next election. Arrogance and bumbling like the Major years. We are heading for a 1997 style result, and they know it.
Words can't describe the disdain and disgust I have for this party, not all of them but the majority. Yet another example of reading the room wrong and making shit up as they go along. Wankers.
Definitely a Gammon with that surname!🐖
philmcnulty
Richard Gammon is more apt.
philmcnulty These people are utterly shameless.
BeckyWi97691777 COVID was a none stop party for you nurses, I mean it's the opposite of what I witnessed but this guy said it was a constant rave now I regret giving you the clap (not the clap when we first got together we've moved on from that) 👏
Look .... if I wanted Baron Vladimir Harkonnen's view on this... I would have asked.
Scandalous! How dare he attack our key workers. 😡😡😡
What a nasty, petty, vindictive, childish and cowardly thing to say. The phrase “Tory Scum” doesn’t even come close 😡 It’s bordering on a hate crime
Guilty conscience trying to justify the unjustifiable. Shameful
How dare you try to justify blojo's actions. They were on the front line dealing with the unknown endangering their lives. Blojo made the rules and didn't follow them. He's a disgrace and so is this government. Be warned 02/05/2024 is coming
Do you have access to TikTok? How many “impromptu “ dance routines are there which took time to choreograph & execute, at the time when people were fighting for their lives & families grieving…
Well, we all saw the Tik Tok videos
Really?.
tweeter_anita Clearly no depths Tory MPs won’t stoop to. Appalling ! richardbaconmp should be ashamed
How dare he!
What is it with these people! How dare they!
The issue isn’t whether people were ‘letting their hair down’ the issue is about the trust and integrity of the government. The constant stream of lies and cover ups takes away from their ability to govern and loses the trust if the people. This BS is another attempt to deflect
Well, which is it? Downing Street were either having 'work events' or 'letting their hair down', i.e. partying. If you're going to lie, at least get your strategies aligned first you muppet.
They are so out of touch that they are not even close to getting it.
Vote them all out
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