MP Joy Morrissey takes swipe at chief medical officer Chris Whitty

MP Joy Morrissey has taken a swipe at chief medical officer Chris Whitty after he warned people to scale back their Christmas plans due to rising COVID-19 infections.

The Tory MP, whose constituency covers Burnham and Marlow, posted a tweet which has since been deleted saying the UK ‘is not a public health socialist state’.

The tweet said: “Perhaps the unelected COVID public health spokesperson should defer to what our ELECTED Members of Parliament and the Prime Minister have decided.

“I know it’s difficult to remember but that’s how democracy works.

“This is not a public health socialist state.”

Her tweet followed a press conference at Number 10 last night where Mr Whitty said people should be prioritising things that really matter to them ahead of Christmas to avoid picking up the virus.

Mrs Morrissey’s office has been contacted for further comment.