Javid tells Boris: compulsory jabs are ‘unethical’

He’s only been at the health department for less than six months but has the Saj already gone native in the role? Steerpike hoped that the fetishisation of lockdowns, restrictions and social distancing had disappeared with the ejection of Matt Hancock from government. But last night the panicked package of measures in response to the Omicron variant has many backbench Tories in a state of near fury, with one messaging Mr S to complain that Plan B is ‘simply awful.’

Fortunately, while Boris Johnson appears to now be a fully signed-up member of the Blob – telling his press conference that ‘we’re going to need to have a national conversation about the way forward’ on the unvaccinated – there are signs of some resistance within the government. Angela Richardson, the aide sacked (and then reinstated) for rebelling on the Owen Paterson motion, tweeted: ‘I can say categorically that compulsory vaccinations are a step too far.