TORY MP Sir Desmond Swayne has been pictured wearing a face mask to go shopping just weeks after branding them a "monstrous imposition".

Face coverings are now mandatory in shops across the UK, and those who do not wear them risk a £100 fine.

Initially many experts and authorities, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), suggested face coverings were not effective in preventing the spread of coronavirus but are now recommending wearing them in indoor spaces.

As reported by the Daily Echo, the New Forest West MP raised the issue in Parliament earlier in the month, questioning health secretary Matt Hancock over how the policy would be enforced.

Sir Desmond said: "Nothing would make me less likely to go shopping than the thought of having to mask up.

"Was this consultation with the police force and particularly the chief constable of Hampshire, for it is she that will have to enforce this monstrous imposition against myself and a number of outraged and reluctant constituents?"

The MP appears to have changed his mind, after posting a picture on social media showing him covering his face before entering the post office in Bransgore.

He wrote: "Dagnabbit.

"Got to the Post Office in Bransgore and discovered the only serviceable covering available was Snoop's blanket.

"When I got to the counter they very kindly offered me one of their own masks."