Mum calls for PM to go after son's lockdown death

A mother whose son died last year has called for Boris Johnson to resign after he was fined for breaking lockdown rules.

Michael Harrison died of a brain tumour and his mother Hazel said she had been unable to do the things she would have liked with him due to the lockdown.

Ms Harrison, of Warwickshire, added she felt as though she should have disregarded the rules instead.

The prime minister has apologised but there have been calls for him to quit.

Michael Harrison was undergoing chemotherapy when Covid-19 emerged in 2020. He died in February 2021.

His mother, 39, of Bishop's Itchington, said: "We gave up so much, and Michael missed out on so much in those last few months of his life."

Her son's clinically vulnerable status meant he needed to be protected by his family and he had to attend scans and appointments alone.

"We weren't able to have the support that we perhaps might have had from friends and family," Ms Harrison said.

"It makes me feel like... we should have disregarded the rules ourselves."

Only 30 people were allowed to attend the funeral while no celebration was permitted afterwards, she added.

Mr Johnson, Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Carrie Johnson, the prime minster's wife, all received fixed penalty notices.

Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak have rejected calls to resign, despite the fine for breaking lockdown rules in Downing Street in June 2020.

Mr Johnson said he felt "an even greater sense of obligation to deliver", while the chancellor said he was "focused on delivering for the British people".

But other bereaved families have said there was "simply no way" either could continue in their jobs, calling their actions "truly shameless".

"I cannot believe that he's still in his position as Prime Minister," Ms Harrison said.

"I just think how can he possibly stay where he is when he's broken the law?

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