BORIS Johnson claimed he only “briefly” considered joining a pilot scheme to skip isolation rules in a Twitter video that has already prompted more outrage.
The Prime Minister took to social media this afternoon after a furious backlash erupted against plans for him and the Chancellor to dodge quarantine rules by joining a pilot scheme.
Johnson and Sunak had been told by the NHS to isolate as close contacts of Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who tested positive for Covid earlier this week.
The pair quickly U-turned after public outrage at the move, which would allow them to test daily and continue to work, instead of isolating for 10 days as government rules state.
READ MORE: What is the pilot scheme Boris Johnson tried to use to skip quarantine?
And now, the PM has taken to Twitter in a bid to explain himself - but furious social media users hit back within minutes of the clip going live.
Standing in a suit and tie with his trademark scruffy white hair, Johnson spoke for nearly two and half minutes in the clip.
He began by saying: “Hi folks, like so many hundreds of thousands of other people across the country I’ve been pinged, I’ve been asked to self isolate by the test, trace and isolate system after I’ve been in contact with somebody who has covid.
“In this case of course the Health Secretary Sajid Javid, and we did look briefly at the idea of us taking part in the pilot scheme which allowed people to test daily, but I think it's far more important everybody sticks to the same rules and that’s why I’m self isolating until the 26th of July.”
He then urged the public to “stick with the programme” and urged them to be “cautious” ahead of England dropping all coronavirus restrictions tomorrow on their so-called ‘freedom day’.
He added: ““We’ve got to do it cautiously, we’ve got to remember that this virus is sadly still out there, cases are rising, you can see the extreme contagiousness of the Delta variant.”
However, the video did not go down well on social media, as users piled on to hit back at the PM for trying to fudge the rules.
Like so many people I've been pinged by NHS Test and Trace as I have been in contact with someone with COVID-19, and I will be self-isolating until Monday 26th July. pic.twitter.com/X57gDpwDqe
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) July 18, 2021
READ MORE: Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak's isolation U-turn intensifies backlash
Richard Morris said: “Too late. Tried to pull a fast one. Got caught.”
Jonathan Grieve added: “Prime Minister, you don’t fool me. You u-turned because you were in the thick of another PR disaster of your own making.”
Hannah Forest said: ”We all know what you really were planning to do...if you could get away with it. The country has had enough.
“The court jester act is getting a bit boring. We just want competent Government during a time of crisis. Is that too much to ask?”
Ian Molyneaux added: “Charlatan. Desperately trying to rewrite history.”
Too late. Tried to pull a fast one. Got caught https://t.co/qyOsjmG2bG
— Richard Morris (@richardmorrisuk) July 18, 2021
Prime Minister, you don’t fool me. You u-turned because you were in the thick of another PR disaster of your own making. https://t.co/bnLx3NzTM3
— Jonathan Grieve (@jonniegrieve) July 18, 2021
READ MORE: Boris Johnson'S Covid-19 isolation U-turn a 'leadership failure', say SNP
While James Tattersall said simply: “Always will be one rule for one & one for another.”
It only took two hours and 38 minutes for the UK government to U-turn on the pilot scheme.
It comes as #oneruleforthem began trending on Twitter yesterday.
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