Michael Gove dons face mask on return to Pret after backlash for not wearing one

Michael Gove has donned a face covering in Pret a Manger after he sparked a backlash for failing to wear one days after telling the public is it "good sense" to do so.

The Cabinet minister was pictured leaving a branch in Westminster last week without a covering - eight minutes apart from Cabinet colleague Liz Truss who wore a mask in the same shop.

Just days before, Mr Gove had said on TV: “It is basic good manners, courtesy and consideration to wear a face mask if, for example, you are in a shop.”

The apparent discrepancy raised doubts about the coherence of Government policy on masks. They will become mandatory in shops in England from this Friday, enforced with the threat of a £100 fine.

But on Tuesday morning, he was snapped wearing a black covering while purchasing his morning coffee on his return to Pret.

The rule is not set to apply to cafes, but Health Secretary Matt Hancock said last week: "You do need to wear a face mask in Pret because Pret is a shop.”

But the Prime Minister's spokesman said hours later: “My understanding is that it wouldn’t be mandatory if you went in, for example, to a sandwich shop in order to get a takeaway, to wear a face covering. Where it is mandatory we’re talking about supermarkets and other shops.”

Chancellor Rishi Sunak added to the confusion after he then tweeted a picture of himself wearing a mask in Pret.

Police chiefs, industry leaders and medics have raised concerns the face mask rule in shops is "illogical" and will be "impossible" to enforce.