Former Brexit secretary wants MPs to be tested daily to end social distancing

Davis was one of the MPs to criticise the procedures brought in by Jacob Rees-Mogg and the government to keep the Commons running during the pandemic.

He suggested that if Vienna Airport in Austria is able to turn around Covid-19 tests in two or three hours, then parliament could similarly set up testing infrastructure to ensure MPs are not ill before they enter the chamber.

Davis told MPs: ‘Every morning, between 8 and 9.30am – and it might be that we don’t start until 12.30pm – every single person who comes into this chamber can be tested.

‘Then we don’t need the two-metre rule anymore and we can suddenly have back the Parliament that was and is the envy of the world.’

He added: ‘We currently have, it is said, according to government numbers, a surplus of 80,000 tests a day. So we are not short of tests anymore.’

Davis also criticised what he said was a lack of scrutiny of the government by MPs because of the social distancing measures.

He said: ‘The fact is this House has no life. It does not challenge ministers properly.

‘It must be the easiest thing in the world – I’ve done it a few times now – to come to this despatch box and deal with this House as it currently stands.

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‘A large part of that arises because of the two-metre rule and the fact we can only have 50 people in the chamber.

‘The atmosphere, the drive, the ferocity, the mood of the House, just doesn’t exist.’

Davis added: ‘The operation of democracy today, as we observe it in this House, is more enfeebled than I’ve seen it in 33 years here.

‘And frankly that is a tragedy and that is a tragedy of the government’s making and one we need to fix as soon as possible.’

Davis added: ‘Democracy is critical to good governance and that is not what we are seeing here today.’