Tory peer who denied pandemic exists looks set to keep Foreign Office job

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Helena Morrissey’s claim that the international crisis was “exaggerated” and had been started by “fake videos” from the Chinese Communist Party sparked calls for her to be disciplined. Asset manager Lady Morrissey is the senior non-executive director at the Foreign Office – a government role created to provide “strategic leadership” and “advice on performance and delivery”. Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner called for her removal, telling The Independent: “The prime minister must finally wake up to the threat of disinformation and conspiracy theories in his party’s ranks.” “He must take action against Conservative parliamentarians who undermine our national effort to defeat this virus and put more lives at risk by legitimising, promoting and endorsing deadly disinformation.” Mr Johnson’s spokesman was asked whether the PM or foreign secretary Dominic Raab had spoken to Lady Morrissey since her comments hit the headlines, and whether she would keep her job. He replied: “Not that I’m aware of, but you’ve got what the prime minister and everybody said around the important role that everyone has to play in terms of continuing to tackle the pandemic.” Asked whether Mr Johnson agreed with her claim that China had created fear about the virus with “fake videos”, the PM’s spokesman said: “The prime minister has been clear about the measures we have had to put in place to tackle the pandemic and the importance of the measures which remain in place in ensuring that we can continue to try to keep case numbers, hospitalisations and deaths down as low as they can be.