In a letter posted on the National Teachers Association (NAHT) Board of Directors website following the outrage from the education sector for his comments, Fabricant said it was not his intention to insult or discourage his morale, “and I ask sorry if i did it honestly “. He added: “I applaud the work of nurses, general practitioners and others in the medical and educational professions who worked long hours under difficult and sometimes difficult conditions during the height of the Covid pandemic to keep us all safe and educated. our children. ” He said in an interview with the BBC that he did not “judge nor punish the minority of nurses or teachers who chose to relax with some colleagues after a long shift”. He added: “I did not even assume that someone was drunk.” During the interview, the Litsfield MP said he did not believe Boris Johnson knew he was breaking the law when he attended a rally on Downing Street in June 2020 to celebrate his 56th birthday. Johnson then paid a fixed penalty notice for his presence at the event in violation of the coronavirus rules. Fabricant said: “I do not think he ever thought he was breaking the law; he thought like many teachers and nurses that after a very long shift they would return to the staff room and have a quiet drink.” In his apology, Fabricant said that after the interview, he was reminded of many other cases of teachers drinking at school. He added that “this was not surprising given that there are around 500,000 nurses and 625,000 teachers across Britain” and acknowledged that the number of drinks after work remained among a “small minority”. He said: “My mistake in one part of the program – which was repeated on television – was to give the impression that it was a general practice by nurses and teachers: this never happened.” In a letter to NAHT Secretary-General Paul Whiteman, he said he felt that “if people worked closely together during the day and then met alone, without strangers present, they would not be able to transmit the infection.” He added: “In the small number of cases where people drank a quick drink with close colleagues, I understand and sympathize with the people who had endured a long and tiring day. We are all humans”. He called for more “tolerance” for all those who were in a stressful work environment during the lockdown and had met with colleagues afterwards. Whiteman said: “We are pleased that Mr Fabricant regretted the impact of his comments – they were unjustified, unhelpful and harmful. “While we appreciate his explanation, we must reiterate that we do not recognize the image painted by Mr Fabricant with teachers drinking together during the lockdown. “Education professionals worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to keep students safe, supportive and learning under extremely difficult conditions.” Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST At its annual conference in Telford, Shropshire, this weekend, NAHT will discuss condemning Fabricant’s comments and applaud Whiteman’s “rapid public intervention”, which he wrote to Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi, criticizing the “completely inaccurate and deeply offensive “. remarks. A conference proposal states: “Mr Fabricant’s subsequent response is welcome, but we note that the insult has not been withdrawn. “We often see unfounded slander and allegations about the profession in an attempt to divert attention away from political failure.” He calls on the union to “publicly correct false impressions without fear or favor at any opportunity.”
