Tory health minister continued meeting with bereaved parents despite positive Covid test

Gillian Keegan apologises for ‘error of judgement’

Health minister Gillian Keegan has apologised for continuing with an in-person meeting with bereaved parents after she was told that she had tested positive for Covid.

The Conservative MP said was informed that a lateral flow test had returned a positive result on Tuesday whilst speaking to a group in her role as minister for care and mental health.

The minister said those at the meeting consented to carrying on with the discussion – but admitted to “an error of judgment” by failing to leave.

“I told them the result and took further precautions but with their consent, I stayed for a short period to hear their stories,” Ms Keegan said in a Twitter thread.

“I should have immediately ended the meeting and on reflection this was an error of judgment on my part.”

The health minister added: “I fully recognise the importance of following the letter and spirit of the policies, so want to be upfront about what happened and to apologise for the mistake I made.”

The meeting was with three men who had lost their daughters to suicide. Tim Owen, one of the fathers who met Ms Gillian Keegan said “she stayed massively well distanced and separated from us”.

He told BBC Radio 4’s The World At One programme: “We were more than two metres away from her at all times in the meeting, so we are massively relaxed about it.”

Health secretary Sajid Javid has accepted Ms Keegan’s apology after speaking to her about Tuesday’s events and “continues to support her in her role”.

The minister said she was now isolating at home after the test on Tuesday and “fortunately feel fine”.

The government’s current Covid rules say an individual must isolate from others “straight away” if the test positive from a lateral flow result.

Follow health minister Ed Argar, doing the media round for the government, said Ms Keegan had “made an error of judgement” but had apologised.

“She has clearly issued a fulsome apology there, that she did make an error of judgement. She was open about that and she accepted she made an error of judgement,” he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

Asked about the apparent breach of the rules, Labour’s shadow Treasury minister Pat McFadden said: “I think after two years people are a bit weary of this, but still, if you test positive, best thing to do is go home.”

Lobby Akinnola, spokesperson for Covid-19 Bereaved families for Justice, said: “This is completely morally irresponsible behaviour.”

He added: “It’s deeply disturbing that this came from one of the country’s health ministers. Once again we are seeing those in government setting a poor example for the rest of the country to follow.”