Coronavirus: Tory MPs criticise 'rule of six' decision

Some Tory MPs have criticised England's latest coronavirus rules that ban gatherings of more than six people.

Ex-minister Steve Baker said the action amounted to "arbitrary powers without scrutiny" and MP Desmond Swayne said it was "outrageous" not to have a Parliamentary debate.

At last, some dissenting voices in the Conservative party . . .  more please!

Boris Johnson is facing open revolt from some Tory backbenchers over new lockdown restrictions, with one former minister declaring: “It is time for us to actually start living like a free people, not subjecting ourselves to constantly shifting legal requirements.”

It comes after reports that ministers are divided over new social distancing rules in England which will limit social gatherings to groups of six people both indoors and outside from Monday.

The Daily Telegraph reported on Friday that senior Tories also want younger children to be exempt from the so-called “rule of six” in England, while the Daily Mail claimed Health Secretary Matt Hancock was the only Cabinet minister on Boris Johnson’s coronavirus strategy committee to support the plan at a meeting on Tuesday, the day before it was announced by the Prime Minister.

Speaking on Friday, Tory former minister Steve Baker told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think it is now time to say that this is not a fit legal environment for the British people.