UK MP calls out Boris Johnson's authoritarian government response to Covid

Boris Johnson has urged MPs to back his stricter Covid tiers system for England, amid a threatened rebellion from his backbenchers.

The PM said the NHS "remains under pressure," despite progress in tackling the virus during the nationwide lockdown ending on Wednesday.

More than 55 million people will enter the two toughest tiers from 00:01 GMT on Wednesday if the plans are approved.

A number of Tory MPs have criticised the new regional restrictions.

Tory MP Desmond Swayne says using “immunity passports” to encourage people to get vaccinated would be wrong. And it could be counter-productive, he says.

Steve Baker (Con) intervenes, and says the government should also avoid implict coercion. It should not allow businesses or airlines to discriminate against people who have not been vaccinated.

Swayne agrees. That would be “vaccinationism”, he says.

He says the government needs to avoid the danger of becoming “the most authoritarian since the Commonwealth of the 1650s”. But Labour would be worse, he claims.