Jacob Rees-Mogg is facing intense pressure to widen virtual participation in House of Commons proceedings after senior Conservative MPs joined calls for a change in the rules, with one saying the the system was “farcical”. The former Northern Ireland secretary Karen Bradley said the current situation was “utterly farcical,” as she urged the Commons leader to allow any MP to join debates by video link during the pandemic, if they needed to. Bradley was launching a report by the cross-party procedure committee, which she chairs, urging Rees-Mogg to make the rules “uniform” for all parliamentary procedures. MPs can participate virtually in “scrutiny” proceedings, such as urgent questions, but not in “substantive” proceedings such as debates on legislation. Any MP can request a proxy vote. As Rees-Mogg sat on the frontbench, Bradley said: “The public will be baffled by a situation where the prime minister can answer prime minister’s questions virtually yesterday, and make a statement to the House virtually today, but cannot then take part in a debate until he has finished self-isolating. This is an utterly farcical situation.” Boris Johnson is self-isolating after coming into contact with an MP who later tested positive for coronavirus. Bradley also highlighted the case of the former sports minister Tracey Crouch, who was unable to take part in a Westminster Hall debate on cancer last week, because she is undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer and cannot attend in person. Rees-Mogg blamed her inability to join the debate on the inadequacy of broadcasting equipment. Bradley was backed by several senior MPs. The mother of the House, Harriet Harman, said:“It’s the role of the leader of the House to support MPs being able to do their job and speak in debates: not for him to set up exclusions.” Rees-Mogg’s Conservative predecessor as Commons leader, Andrea Leadsom, also joined calls for a change in the rules, saying: “It is absolutely unacceptable that members are still unable to fulfil their jobs properly in our parliament.” The Liberal Democrat MP Jamie Stone, who represents Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, said he was a carer for his wife and did not want to risk travelling to Westminster and catching the virus. “Surely this situation is extremely corrosive to our precious democracy?” he said. Tensions between senior Tories and Rees-Mogg are unlikely to please the new Downing Street team, who have made improving relations with the parliamentary party a priority after the departure of Johnson’s top aide Dominic Cummings, who was often scathing about MPs. Rees-Mogg tabled a government motion this week that would allow those MPs who are certified by a doctor as “clinically extremely vulnerable”, such as those with underlying health conditions, to join debates virtually. But many MPs including on his own side were furious at the lack of time allowed to discuss the issue and the limited scope of the concession. Labour’s Chris Bryant tabled an amendment calling for much wider virtual participation, which caused the government motion to fall. Rees-Mogg tabled his motion again on Thursday – and Bryant again tabled an amendment, with the Conservative MP John Baron. The two sides are now locked in a standoff. Bradley urged the government to allow a debate next week so MPs could express their views. Challenged on the issue earlier this week, Rees-Mogg said arrangements were under review – but defended his decision to move away from the full “hybrid parliament” that operated during the first lockdown. “We had to move back to a more physical parliament to ensure that we could deliver on the manifesto commitments, ensure that the government were held to account, allow for backbench business debates and get on with business,” he said.