TORY MPs have demanded an early end to the second lockdown after a minister claimed Boris Johnson is “furious” over being “bounced” into the tough new rules.
The PM was forced to sign off the national measures after Government scientists gave a dodgy doomsday forecast there could be 4,000 deaths a day in a worst case scenario.
The PM was said to be “very cross” that he was forced to hastily-arrange a press conference and announce the four week lockdown after it was leaked to the media.
He is said to be worried about the data, which was used to justify a second lockdown, “crumbling” under scrutiny.
One Cabinet minister told the Daily Mail that Boris felt like he had been pushed into the decision.
“I think he is concerned that he may have been bounced into it,” the source claimed.
“He was really, really cross about the leak because at that point a different decision might still have been made.
“There is also concern that some of the information used to inform the decision now seems to be crumbling.
“In fact the figures seem to be suggesting things were getting better before the lockdown began – we are being shut down for a month when we did not need to be.”
The cabinet minister believes that a third or fourth lockdown is “very unlikely” as it goes against the PM’s beliefs.
Today, Tory MP Sir Desmond Swayne told MailOnline the Government should U-turn on the lockdown if it was made based on unreliable data.
“We’ve not shown any reluctance to just reverse decisions that we thought were wrong in the recent past.
“If we think that the wrong decision has been made then clearly it should be reversed as soon as possible.
“The less damage done the better. No point in hanging on for the full month just to maximise the pain.
“Particularly when all the signs are starting to show that actually according to the data we have already turned the corner.”
Another senior MP warned that if the rate of new coronavirus cases and deaths continue to slow, the Government should “be looking at relaxing the restrictions” before their expiry on December 2.
They said: “The economy cannot remain frozen like this.”
Public health officials predicted that 4,000 deaths a day could happen without intervention – a figure that has since been revised to 1,000 fatalities per day by the start of December.
And England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty has admitted he would not have chosen to share one slide that appeared to mislead viewers over the number of patients in hospital with Covid.
Former Supreme Court Judge Lord Sumption derided the forecast as “absolute Noddy Land figures.”
CASES FALLING
The PM has repeatedly stressed that England will return to the three-tiered approach once the lockdown ends on December 2.
But experts believe the localised approach was beginning to work as on the day England entered the strict lockdown, coronavirus cases in 19 out of London’s 32 boroughs had fallen.
The city was under Tier 2 restrictions before the lockdown was introduced – meaning friends from different households couldn’t meet in the pub.
Data from Public Health England revealed that Covid-19 infections fell across England in the week before the shutdown.
Cases reportedly dropped in 82 of the 149 local authorities nationwide.
The weekly ONS infection survey, published on Friday, revealed that daily infections dropped by 12 per cent compared to the previous week.
With around 45,000 new infections each day, the ONS believe it is a sign that the outbreak is “stabilising” for the first time since the summer.
The R rate has remained stable and Sage scientists estimate that the reproduction rate of the virus is currently between 1.1 and 1.3.
Downing Street denied that Mr Johnson had been “bounced” into imposing a four-week lockdown in England.
A government source said: “It is true that we were furious about the leak, but the PM is absolutely clear that the evidence showed these measures were necessary.
“Even if you put the 4,000 figure to one side, there was plenty of other very concerning data, such as the hospitalisation figures, that made it very clear he had to act.”
Tory MPs are already revolting over the Government’s lockdown legislation, with 33 voting against the national measures and 17 abstanining in last week’s vote.
And the figure could be much higher if the Government decides to extend the restrictions.
Tory backbencher Sir Charles Walker MP blasted the measures, saying the UK was “(drifting) further into an authoritarian coercive state”.
The latest government data revealed coronavirus deaths and cases have fallen compared to last week -raising hopes that the second peak is starting to slow.
A further 156 Brits have died with the virus – down from 162 recorded last Sunday, November 1.
And 20,572 new cases were recorded – a drop on the 25,254 infections reported this time last week.
Last week saw the highest toll ever recorded on a Sunday in the UK.
