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# Another union criticises Lichfield MP over claim nurses and teachers had “quiet drink” after work during lockdown
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/another-union-criticises-lichfield-mp-over-claim-nurses-and-teachers-had-quiet-drink-after-work-during-lockdown/
- Published: 2022-04-13T14:54:20.000Z
- Updated: 2022-04-13T14:54:31.000Z
- Description: A teaching union is the latest organisation to condemn comments Lichfield’s MP made about key workers breaking lockdown rules.
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: Education, Politics, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 19:11, News

A teaching union is the latest organisation to condemn comments Lichfield’s MP made about key workers breaking lockdown rules.

![Michael Fabricant](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e3/90/e390c3da-0866-4d2a-8ffe-ca4999d7ce1c/content/images/lichfieldlive-co-uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/fabricantwide.jpg)

Michael Fabricant

Michael Fabricant said in a BBC interview that nurses and teachers were having “a quiet drink” after work during the pandemic.

His quotes drew criticism from a number of quarters [including the Royal College of Nursing](https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/union-chief-says-lichfield-mps-comments-on-nurses-are-utterly-demoralising-and-factually-incorrect/).

The Conservative MP then [sought to clarify his comments](https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/teacher-and-nurses-told-me-they-had-post-work-drinks-during-lockdown-lichfield-mp-says/), suggesting he had been told of the practice taking place by a teacher and two nurses.

But Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT union, has now written to Education Secretary Nadim Zahawi to complain about Mr Fabricant’s “entirely unjustified” slur on teachers.

> “Mr Fabricant’s suggestion that staff ‘tended to go back to the staff room for a quiet drink’ at the end of a day is wholly inaccurate and deeply insulting to the teaching profession.  
>  
> “I cannot overstate the hurt and anger these comments have caused.  
>  
> “Throughout the pandemic, school leaders and other educational professionals have worked tirelessly to implement ever-changing Government guidance and to keep all members of the community safe.  
>  
> “They supported the most vulnerable, ensured that children were fed and effectively reinvented how education was delivered in a matter of weeks.  
>  
> “The demands placed on them were enormous. These latest comments by Mr Fabricant have done enormous damage and are entirely unjustified.”  
>  
> Paul Whiteman, NAHT

Mr Whiteman used his letter to urge the Education Secretary to make a public statement condemning Mr Fabricant’s comments.

> “I assume that given your knowledge of what actually happened in schools during the national lockdowns you will be looking to set the record straight publicly and to address what is, frankly, a slur on the teaching profession.”  
>  
> Paul Whiteman, NAHT