The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) took Michael Fabricant to task over comments made during a round of broadcast interviews defending the prime minister for breaking lockdown rules in Downing Street.

RCN general secretary Pat Cullen wrote to Mr Fabricant to complain formally about the comments, saying it was "utterly demoralising" that he had apparently sought to draw parallels between the behaviour of nurses and that of the PM.

He was also criticised for similar remarks about teachers.

The MP had told Sky News on Tuesday: "I know of some nurses - quite understandably and I'm not condemning them - who, after a long day on the wards, absolutely exhausted - this is pre the vaccination being available, pre the antiviral drugs being available, then going back to the staff room and having a quiet drink before they went home.

"And frankly I can't blame them - but would you call that a party?"

However, Sky News presenter Mark Austin challenged the MP's account.

He said: "My wife's an A&E doctor and I can assure you that there was nothing going on in her hospital like that.

"They were exhausted, completely exhausted throughout COVID."

In a letter to Mr Fabricant, Ms Cullen said that she was formally complaining about his comments on behalf of the RCN's half-million members and painted a starkly different picture of how nurses had been working "ethically, responsibly and in the face of ongoing pressures and constraints".

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She said throughout the pandemic, most - having worked unpaid well past the end of their shift - would "get home, clean their uniforms, shower and collapse into bed".

"Throughout the early pandemic, this was often alone, for the protection of others - kept away from family, friends and support networks.

"These shifts - in communities, in hospitals, anywhere people are - are long, unrelenting, understaffed and intense.

"At the end of one of the many hours, days and years we have worked, since recognition of the pandemic, I can assure you that none of us have sought to hang out and 'have a quiet one in the staff room'.

"There isn't a site in England that would allow alcohol on the premises for any professional to consume during working hours."

Ms Cullen said nurses were today "still dealing with the implications of the pandemic - understaffed, underpaid, overworked, exhausted, burnt out and still holding it together while doing the best we can for our patients".

She added: "It is utterly demoralising - and factually incorrect - to hear you suggest that our diligent, safety critical profession can reasonably be compared to any elected official breaking the law, at any time."

Mr Fabricant also drew fire from teachers' unions following remarks to the BBC comparing the PM's behaviour to "teachers and nurses who after a very long shift would go back to the staff room and have a quiet drink".

Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: "Michael Fabricant's attempt to defend the indefensible actions of the Prime Minister and Chancellor are as insulting as they are offensive."

"Teachers, nurses and the vast majority of the British public followed the rules set by Boris Johnson and his government."

Tory MP Simon Hoare joined in the criticism, calling his colleague's comments "unsubstantiated offensive whataboutery".