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Alok Sharma was left behind when asked about the new lockdown rules in Bolton, one of the country’s worst-hit coronavirus hotspots, in a conversation with presenter Rachel Burden Asked on ‘how many households can get together in a pub in Bolton?’, the minister began by dodging the question and instead sought to focus on broader rules across England
When pressed for a clear answer, he answered « gotcha » style questions
He said: « Maybe I could ask you explaining what the national rules are in England… »
He replied, « Well, because I think it’s really important that I put this in the context of what the rules are at the national level If you don’t mind? And I’ll come back to the point of foreclosure. »
Ms Burden said she wanted him to answer the question so he couldn’t ask someone to « run away and look » while he talked about other rules
M Sharma said: « What you start with is this kind of ‘gotcha’ question before advising the people of Bolton to look at the UK government website to find out more about their local rules
She tweeted: « I’m not sure it really flies to say it’s a question of expecting government ministers to know what rules they’re asking millions of people to follow »
M Sharma also accused the BBC’s Today program of throwing ‘gotcha’ questions at Boris Johnson about a similar issue
He defended the Prime Minister’s inability to explain the rules yesterday, highlighting his quick clarification and apologies
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But repeatedly insisted on why the public should be supposed to understand rules ministers don’t understand, Mr. Sharma aimed at the presenter’s interview style
He added: « The overall message is the rule of six wash your hands, cover your face: people understand that
« The issues are related to my local restrictions and the best way to find out is to go to the website and find out »
But the Labor Party has said that knowing the rules put in place by ministers is a matter of « core competence of government »
Tuesday, M Johnson took to Twitter to apologize for his blunder in response to questions about the rules in north-east England, where households have been banned from mixing
He quickly issued a correction with details of the Northeast restrictions and said: « Sorry, I misspoke today »
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Alok Sharma, Boris Johnson, Coronavirus, Gotcha journalism
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SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com