Like many I am appalled at the scant disregard to the rules shown by those in Downing Street – particularly given that they are the ones who wrote the rules and expected the rest of the UK to follow them during the pandemic. It is also important to note that these are the first of what may be many other fines applied by the Police, with somewhere in the region of 12 or 13 events under investigation.

Even more worrying is that the fact that it appears both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor lied to the House of the Commons in a direct break from the standards which have upheld our system of Government for decades. In an answer to my question before Christmas the Prime Minister was clear in his statement that “rules were followed at all times”, which has now been proven to have been false. The Ministerial Code is clear that any Minister who knowingly misleads the House of Commons must offer their resignation.

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Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Labour Party, has led the calls for both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor to resign, rightly pointing out that they have dishonoured their office. We have also been clear that Parliament should be recalled and MPs should be able to hold the Prime Minister to account, but sadly if his own Conservative MPs do not act then we are unable to force his resignation.

I assure you, whether Parliament is recalled or not, I will be working tirelessly with my Labour colleagues to press upon Tory MPs the need to act in the national interest and restore standards to Downing Street. So many of my constituents suffered during the pandemic, doing the right thing to stop the spread of the virus and missing out on key events as a result. We cannot let this disregard for their sacrifice be forgotten.

Standards matter, and we intend to ensure this is clear to the Government and all of their MPs.