LONDON: The UK's Leader of the Opposition, Sir Keir Starmer, is in self-isolation on Wednesday after testing positive for COVID-19.
The Labour Party leader will miss the chance to challenge the government on its Autumn Budget statement, delivered in the House of Commons by UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak.
Former Labour Party leader, Ed Miliband, stood in for Starmer in Parliament at the weekly Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs), which preceded Sunak's Budget statement.
Today's Budget must create a more resilient economy and take the pressure off working people, Starmer tweeted.
Labour would grow our economy, with our plan to buy, make and sell more in Britain, and our Climate Investment Pledge to create the jobs of the future, he said.
The 59-year-old Opposition Leader is said to have tested positive for COVID-19 after taking a Lateral Flow Test (LFT) earlier on Wednesday, as part of daily tests that he undergoes.
It means he will have to self-isolate for 10 days and will not be present at the beginning of the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow next week.
The Labour Leader has had to self-isolate several times in previous weeks after coming in close contact with a COVID-positive individual.
This week he was pictured with party colleagues Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Bridget Phillipson, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, but they have both tested negative with a LFT.
Reeves will be stepping in to respond to Sunak's budget announcement later on Wednesday.
Under the current COVID-19 rules in England, fully vaccinated people no longer have to self-isolate if they are a close contact of someone who tests positive but must do so if they test positive themselves.
It comes as the Commons Speaker gave directions for face masks to be worn by all parliamentary staff.
In updated guidance, all staff, visitors, contractors and press must cover their faces while in Parliament to combat the spread of COVID-19.
But it remains up to individual members of Parliament to decide on whether to wear a face mask, with many seen wearing masks including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.