Michael Gove accused of bending isolation rules after watching Champions League final in Portugal
MICHAEL Gove is accused of bending isolation rules after watching the Champions League final in Portugal.
The Cabinet minister is under fire after he was pinged by Test and Trace on his way back from Porto — but turned up for work at Downing Street the next day.
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Aides insist he is taking part in a pilot scheme that means he can stay at his desk provided he regularly tests negative.
But shadow sports minister Alison McGovern said it was unfair Mr Gove would not have to self-isolate in the same way as ordinary fans who might also have received an alert.
She said: “Doesn’t that sound like one rule for him and one rule for everybody else?”
Asked about the incident by Good Morning Britain presenter Richard Madeley, Mr Gove’s colleague Robert Jenrick said: “It sounds like the system worked.
“He’s taking part in a pilot, as I understand, where people can have slightly different circumstances.
"But I’m sure he’s going to take all of the necessary precautions — he’s not been coming into the office.”
Sources close to the minister said No10 was part of a scheme offered to 40,000 people in a effort to understand if self-isolation times could be slashed.
He now has to sit in a room alone where he is tested before being allowed out to work or exercise but cannot socialise.
