Will Tory MPs back Boris’s lockdown plan?

Boris Johnson did not want to give a Downing Street press conference this evening. The Prime Minister had hoped to present his plans for a national lockdown before the House of Commons on Monday.  However, after the plans made their way into several of the Saturday papers, the government had to move faster than hoped. The last minute nature of today’s announcement was evidenced by the fact the start time of the conference was pushed back by several hours.

When the presser finally begin, the Prime Minister began by handing over to Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty and Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance for a briefing on the latest data. While the graphs they presented drew criticism for lack of clarity, their message was clear: without significant steps taken now the second wave will be much worse than the first, with one forecast suggesting up to 4,000 deaths a day during the winter. The number of graphs presented shows how No.