Father felt Boris Johnson discarded question as ‘nonsense’ after asking if he could visit son under new lockdown rules
Mr Eldridge was told by the Prime Minister to check for guidance online about whether he would be able to visit his six-year-old son.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A father who asked Boris Johnson if he would be able to travel to see his six-year-old son under new lockdown rules has said he felt the Prime Minister discarded his question as “nonsense”.
Chris Eldridge, 32, from Kent said he felt let down that Mr Johnson couldn’t address his concerns at Friday’s coronavirus briefing, and was instead told to seek guidance online.
Mr Eldridge asked the Prime Minister if he would be able to visit his son in Essex if either area arises from the "medium" level of restrictions.
In response Mr Johnson said: “Christopher I think the guidance, alas, is that – you should go on the website obviously and check – but when places go into a higher tier from the basic medium then there are restrictions on household contact, alas.”
Mr Eldridge told PA: “I understand that the government aren't going to be able to provide an answer to everybody's situation, but you can see that my situation is going to be the sort of thing that's troubling quite a few people."
"It felt like he discarded the question as nonsense and moved on to the next one."
Mr Eldridge added: "I was on the website, I had to go on the website to submit my question. Obviously, I had gone to the website to try and find the answer to my situation. Considering all the steps you go through to submit a question, it would have been a lot easier, a lot quicker, to get my answer if I were to find it on their website.
"Initially I didn't pick up on the fact he said there might be restrictions.
"Five minutes later I got forwarded an article that actually gave me the answer I was looking for.
"I just wanted to try and find an answer to my situation before I actually go and pick my son up and potentially get in trouble for doing so."
The latest government guidance states that households can form a “childcare bubble” for children aged 13 years old or under.
Each of the three new lockdown tiers, including the "very high" level, includes an exemption for children who live apart from their parents, meaning the Prime Minister appeared to get his coronavirus rules wrong again.
It comes after Mr Johnson was forced to apologise last month when he wrongly suggested that the “rule of six” did not apply outdoors in north-east England.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments