Coronavirus: Jacob Rees-Mogg faces calls to resign as he faces angry MPs over return to parliament

Jacob Rees-Mogg faced calls to resign as he fielded questions from MPs angry at the government bringing them back to Westminster during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Commons leader was challenged by opposition MPs about the "shambolic" long queues which some have dubbed the "coronavirus conga".

Alistair Carmichael, a Liberal Democrat former minister, compared the scene to "exercise hour in a category C prison for white collar criminals".

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has granted Mr Carmichael's application for an emergency debate on Monday on how the chamber will operate during the COVID-19 outbreak, meaning Mr Rees-Mogg will face more opposition anger.

The government's decision to end the virtual proceedings, which saw MPs contribute remotely via Zoom and vote online, has proven unpopular.

With MPs in some cases now having to travel hundreds of miles between Westminster and their constituencies, fears have been raised about potentially spreading COVID-19 further.

These worries were heightened on Wednesday when Business Secretary Alok Sharma left a Commons debate to undergo a test for coronavirus. He was found to be negative for COVID-19.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has defended the move to bring politicians back to London.

Speaking at PMQs on Wednesday, he said MPs should consider "what is really going on throughout the country", with Britons "getting used to queuing for long periods of time to do their shopping or whatever it happens to be".

The PM continued: "I do not think it's unreasonable that we should ask parliamentarians to come back to this place and do their job for the people of this country."

Mr Johnson has said that elderly MPs or those who are shielding will be allowed to vote by proxy, a change in stance from earlier in the week.

But the concession has not quelled the anger among some MPs.

Angela Eagle, a Labour former minister, told the Commons on Thursday: "The current leader of the House is rapidly building a strong claim to the title of the worst holder of the job in living memory.

"He is supposed to be the voice of the government and the Commons in government as well as a member of the government and he's failing dismally at that task.

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"He illegally shut down parliament, then unilaterally abolished the perfectly fair system of electronic voting and hybrid proceedings developed to ensure at least some scrutiny of the government during the pandemic."

Referring to the queues as the "coronavirus conga", Ms Eagle warned this had put the health of MPs and parliamentary staff at risk, adding Mr Rees-Mogg's "arrogance" was to blame.

Queues to vote stretched for several hundred metres on Tuesday, winding through the parliamentary estate.

The first vote ran for 46 minutes, more than three times longer than the usual 15 minutes.

Social distancing measures mean MPs have to join a queue, keep two metres apart, walk through the Commons chamber and announce their vote.

Ms Eagle added: "Can he show some bravery and make time next week for us to debate his disastrous record and perhaps even call for his resignation?"

The Commons leader said in response: "What she has said is so overcooked, exaggerated, we poor members, we couldn't queue for a little time to do our public duty, how hard was it.

"It was very amusing reading in The Times how some members were quite incapable of walking in the right direction, but I think that's more their problem than mine."

Asked how adjustments would be made to help disabled MPs, Mr Rees-Mogg said: "MPs with health concerns will need to make their own decisions about what is appropriate for them."

He said ministers have put down motions to allow virtual participation for those who cannot come to parliament for medical or health reasons and to give them the option of proxy voting.

"I'm always open and always have been open to listening to any suggestions that MPs have to make," Mr Rees-Mogg told MPs.

Shadow Commons leader Valerie Vaz told the chamber: "That image of our parliament is going to live with this parliament forever. Time-wasting, shambolic, breaking the rules, putting people's lives at risk."

Mr Rees-Mogg replied: "How can we look teachers in our constituencies in the eye when we're asking them to go back to work and we're saying we're not willing to?"

The SNP's Patrick Grady complained that too many MPs were being "actively excluded" by the government's refusal to allow members to take part remotely.