Raab pays tribute to the work of the armed forces – and first virtual PMQs takes place

By Gareth Jones, Associate Partner

Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State Dominic Raab gave today’s government press conference, joined by Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty and Sir Nick Carter, Chief of the Defence Staff.

Raab stressed that the current measures will remain in place, noting that we had reached the peak of the virus but not necessarily passed it – stating that 'we are making progress through the peak of this outbreak, but we're not out of the woods yet'. He stated that the government’s priority is to avoid the risk of a second spike in the virus and the risk of a second lockdown. He noted that the peak of this virus has not overwhelmed the NHS and the additional extra hospital capacity that had been provided was equivalent of building an extra 50 district hospitals.

Raab then paid tribute to the work of the armed forces, noting that they “have been there every step of the way” in efforts to combat the virus. Sir Nick Carter then outlined the role of the armed forces, which he said has been entirely in support of “the heroic healthcare workers on the front line”. Sir Nick talked about the logistical support in setting up the Nightingale hospitals and warehouse delivery space. Sir Nick also highlighted the involvement of the armed forces in testing in designing the system and manning regional centres. Finally, Chief Medical Officer, Chris Whitty gave an update on latest trends and statistics, noting that the very steep upward climb in hospital deaths has now flattened off. He then said we should anticipate the same situation as countries like France, Italy and Spain, which had seen a slow gradual decrease in the number of deaths.

Earlier today, the House of Commons experienced its first ever virtual Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), which was a notable and unusual occasion in many respects. It was one of the first glimpses of what the ‘hybrid’ model of Parliament will look like, with a small number of MPs present in the chamber, sufficiently spaced apart to observe social distancing rules, while other MPs providing questions from their homes via video conferencing. As expected, there were a few minor technical glitches (for example Peter Bone MP was cut off half way through his question on the behaviour of UK banks) but overall, the system seemed to work reasonably well.

Even without the new setup, the session would have still been notable. The government and opposition were represented by new figures – with new Labour leader Keir Starmer questioned First Secretary of State, Dominic Raab on test numbers and the sourcing of PPE for NHS workers. Many observers of PMQs would have acknowledged that the focused and detailed line of questioning from the leader of the Official Opposition marked a significant change in the tone and level of debate from previous PMQs.