Boris accused of ‘treating public like children’ over plans to extend emergency coronavirus laws for months to come

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BORIS Johnson has been accused by Tory MPs of “treating the public like children” over plans to extend emergency coronavirus laws for months to come.

MPs will have to vote next week on the keeping the laws in place to give Mr Johnson the power to introduce sweeping new measures without needing parliamentary approval.

Boris Johnson is facing a revolt from Tory MPs

Senior Tory Sir Graham Brady slammed the PM for treating Brits like children

Tory grandee and chairman of the 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady told BBC Radio 4 this morning: “The Government has got into the habit of ruling by decree without the usual debate and discussion and votes in Parliament that we would expect on any other matter.”

He called on the Government to subject to the “really quite extreme” legislation to regular parliamentary approval.

He slammed the PM for allowing the new “rule of six” measures to be leaked and then announced publicly before MPs had a chance to even debate the new restrictions.

He said such tough new rules should have been debated in parliament so that MPs could demand answers on what the criteria for lifting it would be – and why kids are included in the rules, when they aren’t in Scotland and Wales.

Sir Graham said: “The British people aren’t used to being treated as children, we expect in this country to have a parliamentary democracy where our elected representatives can require proper answers to these things.”

The situation was different to March, where most people knew relatively little about the virus, and there was broad public support for a lockdown, Sir Graham added.

The rebellion on the backbench comes as Mr Johnson prepares to address the nation again tomorrow on how the UK will tackle coronavirus in the future.

The PM will chair a Cobra meeting tomorrow with key advisers and Cabinet ministers to finalise plans for new restrictions.

The chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty and chief scientific advisor Sir Patrick Vallance delivered a sombre warning that there could be 50,000 cases and 200 deaths a day by mid-October if Britain stayed on its current trajectory.

The legislation allows the PM to act swiftly and bring in sweeping national or local measures to try and stem the tide of new infections.

But Sir Graham rejected the presumption that greater scrutiny would prevent ministers from acting swiftly to deal with the pandemic.

“Governments find it entirely possible to put things to Parliament very quickly when they choose to do so,” he said.

Another senior Tory, Sir Bernard Jenkin, chairm of the Liasion Committee, demanded the PM “take back control of his Government from publicity-obsessed and unaccountable advisers, who seem able to instruct everyone else in the Government as to what they can and cannot say and do”.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he said the armed forces help more in the coronavirus crisis, particularly in light of the chaotic testing regime chaired by Tory peer Baroness Dido Harding.

He wrote: “The question for the Prime Minister is this: will he allow things to carry on as they are, with under-qualified appointees scrambling in their posts?

“There are still large wells of public goodwill to draw upon, but without serious, targeted action and competent delivery, we will enter the winter looking as if we have learned little from the crisis so far.”

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the Army had already “provided fantastic support” in building the Nightingale Hospitals and setting up mobile testing sites.

The spokesman added: “The Army, whenever called upon by the Government, do a fantastic job in support of our efforts.”

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https://www.hellofaread.com/politics/rail-passenger-levels-will-never-return-to-pre-covid-levels-as-ministers-scrap-franchise-deals/