November 16, 2020 12.47 pm This story is over 40 months old

Grimsby MP isolating after meeting the Prime Minister

Boris Johnson is also isolating after meeting with no masks
Grimsby MP Lia Nici with Boris Johnson.

The Conservative MP for Grimsby Lia Nici is self-isolating after coming into contact with another MP who tested positive for COVID-19 at a work meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week.

Lee Anderson, who is the MP for Ashfield and Eastwood, was among those at the meeting which lasted around 35 minutes at Number 10 on Thursday morning. He has since tested positive for coronavirus.

Ms Nici is now self-isolating and working from home, but emphasised that she currently has no symptoms, while Boris Johnson is also self-isolating, as announced over the weekend.

Mr Anderson and Ms Nici separately posted photos of themselves stood apart from Boris Johnson after the meeting, but neither were wearing masks in the picture.

Ms Nici said she was contacted by NHS Test and Trace after the meeting with the PM and Mr Anderson where they discussed all things Grimsby, including fishing, education, renewables, employment and coronavirus.

Grimsby MP Lia Nici was invited, along with five other northern MPs, to discuss what was high on the agenda in their individual constituencies with Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Confirming his positive test result, Mr Anderson said: “On Friday I lost my sense of taste and at the same time my wife had a bad headache.

“I had no cough, no fever and felt well. We both had a test on Saturday and the result came in Sunday morning. My wife and I both tested positive.

“I feel absolutely fine and my biggest concern is my wife who is in the shielded group, but we are both feeling good.”

Ms Nici was invited, along with five other northern MPs, to discuss what was high on the agenda in their individual constituencies.

She said the PM was interested in how Grimsby and similar towns plan to ‘level up’ and how he could support them in doing so.

She said: “Mr Johnson and I talked about English fisheries and the importance of taking back control of our waters. Whether we get an EU deal or not, we are an independent coastal state; we need to increase our quotas and become a world-leading, modern and sustainable fishing nation once again.

“We discussed how to best support the fish processing industry – 70-80% of the fish we eat in the UK is processed in Grimsby, imported from Iceland, Norway and the Faroe Islands. These relationships with our non-EU trading partners are vitally important to the industry and the town.”