Cabinet minister criticised for visiting parents during coronavirus lockdown

For the last three weeks, people around the UK have been told to stay in their homes and avoid unnecessary travel.

That was doubly true if you were one of the vulnerable groups – or lived with them, such as grandparents. But over the weekend, housing minister Robert Jenrick was spotted visiting his parents’ house.

His family residence in Shropshire is 40 miles away from his own, and it also emerged that he had gone to his house in Herefordshire, which is not in his constituency.

In a tweet about the incident, Jenrick clarified that he had not gone inside his parents home, but was dropping off food and medication as they were self-isolating.

In Scotland, chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood resigned after visiting her holiday home twice and being spotted on a local beach.

Photographs showed her visiting her second home over the past weekend, and she confirmed that she had visited the home twice. Calderwood has been a crucial part of the Stay at Home messaging in Scotland.

In New Zealand, the chief medical officer Dr David Clark was demoted after it emerged that he had driven his family to a local beach after the lockdown measures were imposed.

People on social media pointed out that other elderly and vulnerable members of the population were being left to fend for themselves.

Another pointed out that advice from Jenrick and the government had told people that they couldn’t visit their mothers for Mother’s Day, and that Jenrick was flouting the rules.

In a tweet posted before the weekend, Jenrick encouraged people to stay at home and respect social distancing.

He had also written an article for the Daily Mailsaying that people should rely on their local communities, rather than having family and friends from afar bring essential supplies.