Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle on Thursday rejected a controversial proposal to allow MPs to physically return to the House of Commons.
“Based on the latest professional advice from PHE [Public Health England], it is clear to me that the House simply cannot conduct divisions safely via the lobbies,” he wrote in a letter to MPs.
Sir Lindsay has forced a recall of parliament on Tuesday, which marks the first day back after the half-term recess, which will force the government to put forward new legislation regarding parliament's return.
The speaker's statement follows the end of the "hybrid" system in parliament, where a minority of MPs attend Westminster meetings and others participate virtually, while national social-distancing restrictions remain in place.
Ending the arrangement was voted through under a whipped vote on Tory MPs, with one Conservative backbencher accusing the government of effectively “euthanising” MPs with preexisting medical conditions who are vulnerable to infection.
Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg has been urging lawmakers to serve as an example for the nation and return to work as the government looks to loosen some of its lockdown restrictions.
The UK went into lockdown in March to stymie the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
As of Thursday, 267,000 people in the UK have been confirmed to have caught the virus and 37,460 have died.
