Boris Johnson has landed himself in more hot water after being left momentarily speechless when confronted over why he wasn’t wearing a mask when sat next to 95-year-old David Attenborough at COP26.
A photo taken from the first day at COP26 in Glasgow on Monday went viral and caused an uproar, as not only did the prime minister appear to be asleep, a claim which Downing Street has strongly denied, but he was also the only person in the picture not wearing a face mask.
In his first interview since the photo was widely shared on social media, the prime minister was asked by CNN’s chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour why he wasn’t wearing a mask when in such close proximity to a “national treasure” like Attenborough.
Johnson seemed momentarily confused as to what Amanpour was referring to and had to be told that it was “all over the place”.
After a brief awkward silence, Johnson said: “I’ve been wearing a mask in confined spaces with people that I don’t normally meet and I think it’s up to people to make a judgment on whether they’re at a reasonable distance from someone and whether they’re with someone they don’t normally meet. That’s the approach we take.”
The UK PM @BorisJohnson is in hot water after being pictured unmasked next to 95 year-old David Attenborough. I asked him for his response: pic.twitter.com/U7lGEZdgcc
— Christiane Amanpour (@camanpour) November 2, 2021
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The clip has already been viewed more than 700,000 times on Twitter, with many people astonished at the prime minister’s reaction to the question.
If @BorisJohnson puts himself first - even before a 95 year old National treasure how is he going to put the planet and the people of the U.K. first? https://t.co/uMJGIaTVyD
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) November 3, 2021
Boris Johnson tries to explain why he wasn't wearing a mask while sitting next to Sir David Attenborough. 🤦#COP26 pic.twitter.com/hW1wpNbPHU
— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) November 2, 2021
And your judgement Boris was utterly irresponsible https://t.co/ElHhC11eIm
— Jonathan Ashworth (@JonAshworth) November 2, 2021
Once again, a big well done to those who voted this in. https://t.co/8A7Yu8NLlK
— Sasha Goryunov (@Slasherrrr) November 2, 2021
Only a short clip, but less buffoonery from our PM when he’s talking to international media. He knows he can’t get easy laughs and sniggers. It’s striking how ineffective and lost he becomes. https://t.co/8QYC89aXNd
— Adil Ray OBE (@adilray) November 2, 2021
JUST PUT A MASK ON @BorisJohnson https://t.co/Oxr8CTOuBK
— Max Rushden 💙 (@maxrushden) November 3, 2021
Elsewhere, in the interview, Amanpour also challenged Johnson on the easing of Covid restrictions in the UK, despite there still being a large number of cases compared to the rest of Europe. In response, the PM encouraged people to get a third dose of the vaccination.
Amanpour: UK has more covid than Europe
— UK is with EU (@ukiswitheu) November 2, 2021
Johnson: I dispute that
Amanpour: Well the facts and the figures show it
Johnson shakes his head: Again I dispute that
Amanpour: Shall I read them?
Johnson: You can read whatever you like#CNN #BBCQT #FBPE #Marr #Phillips #Newsnight pic.twitter.com/3osRkPo6do
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the prime minister said that ”the prime minister has abided by the COVID-19 guidance at COP26 throughout. Attendees and delegates are not required to wear a face mask when they are seated as per the COP26 guidance.”
