A Nottinghamshire MP has hit back at critics after he was accused of mocking NHS workers by posing for a picture wearing only a face mask. The picture, which appears to show Conservative Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith covering himself with only a face mask, has garnered MP criticism online.
It has been included in a collage also featuring a photograph of the Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns, whom Mr Clarke-Smith works alongside as a recently appointed junior minister in the Department for Education, appearing to make a rude gesture to the public as she entered Downing Street on Thursday, July 7. However, Mr Clarke-Smith has said that the picture is in fact more than a decade old and was taken during a waxing fundraiser he participated in to raise money for the British Heart Foundation and Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance, reports Lincolnshire Live.
He added that the people online "falsely stating" that he was mocking the use of face masks or "denigrating NHS workers" were intent on "poisoning our politics". "I will continue to raise money for charity and hope these trolls choose to devote their time and energy to something more positive in the future," he wrote.
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Mr Clarke-Smith received support from fellow MPs, including James Cleverly, the new secretary of state for education and Conservative MP for Braintree. He described the original post as "deceitful and malicious" and defended Mr Clarke-Smith's charity efforts, adding that "a few apologies were in order".
As part of the recent reshuffle of Boris Johnson's cabinet, following an unprecedented 48 hours that culminated in the PM's resignation on Thursday, July 7, Mr Clarke-Smith was appointed parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department for Education. "As a former teacher and Education Committee member, it is something I feel particularly passionate about," the MP said in a tweet.
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