Boris Johnson is in a bind on Covid

This morning, it’s the Tory party versus the scientists, with a number of Conservative MPs seeing red following Wednesday’s downbeat press conference on the Omicron variant. As the number of Covid cases soars, Boris Johnson has been accused of a lockdown by stealth – after he appeared alongside Chris Whitty in a press conference urging caution over Christmas. The Chief Medical Officer suggested people ought to prioritise the social events they most care about. This morning Whitty is giving evidence to MPs where he has suggested it is too early to say whether further restrictions will be needed.

None of this is landing well with the Tory party. As MPs such as Steve Baker probe Whitty on his warnings, government PPS Joy Morrissey has deleted a tweet in which she accused Whitty of speaking out of turn and going further than the government and elected members of parliament had agreed.