Boris Johnson in Burnley: This was the Prime Minister's message to the people of Burnley who followed Covid rules while Downing Street flouted them

During a visit to Burnley College yesterday, where he was shown around the Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Excellence, the PM was asked: “Many districts in Lancashire were under additional Covid restrictions back in 2020 for longer than almost any other part of the country.

"Do you have a message for people here who followed those rules to the letter and the spirit – and often suffered hardship and heartache as a result – only to find that the same standards weren’t always upheld in Downing Street?”

He replied: “I want to repeat what I said at the beginning, I want to thank the people of Lancashire for the way they handled the pandemic. I watched it, day in, day out – we were monitoring everything and I think they did an amazing job.”

Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak both received fines earlier this month as part of a police probe into allegations of lockdown parties held at Downing Street.

The Prime Minister had this to say about Burnley College at the end of his tour: “Burnley College is a truly amazing place with an incredibly positive atmosphere and the college is working with some fantastic businesses, the cutting edge of industry.

“The work ethic and real sense of confidence you can sense here is fantastic. This is the place that will make a difference for the future of our country.”