Boris Johnson faces an inquiry – but he must focus on the immediate crisis

Boris Johnson knew his announcement of tougher coronavirus restrictions would produce headlines about him “cancelling Christmas”, the nightmare he desperately wanted to avoid. Downing Street was braced for a hostile reaction from disappointed, frustrated and angry members of the public, and for renewed (and justified) claims of incompetence from opposition parties after Mr Johnson’s belated change of heart. But No 10 hoped for more understanding from Conservative MPs. Although many have previously vowed to block a third lockdown in England, it appeared their stance was softening in the face of the alarming rise in cases and worrying evidence about a new more infectious strain of the virus. 

Such hopes were premature. Leaders of the Covid Recovery Group (CRG) of 70 Tory MPs have attacked the prime minister’s decision and called for parliament to be recalled from its Christmas break so MPs can vote on the rules and the new tier 4 introduced in London and parts of the southeast and east of England.  

It is true that MPs and peers are on standby for a recall this week to approve a UK-EU trade deal if one is approved during the continuing negotiations in Brussels. That would be a justified and necessary move since an agreement would need to be ratified before the end of the transitional period on 31 December. But recalling parliament to retrospectively rubber stamp coronavirus restrictions that have already taken effect would be pointless. Even if 70 Tories voted against them, the new regime would be approved; Sir Keir Starmer confirmed yesterday that Labour supports the changes.  

A Commons recall would allow the Tories’ “economy first” brigade to let off steam but would not produce an alternative strategy because it does not possess one. Mark Harper, the CRG’s chair, and his deputy Steve Baker have reheated their cliché that the “cure runs the risk of being worse than the disease” because of the damage to the economy and people’s mental health. Sadly, more livelihoods will be lost as a result of the latest lockdown. But not imposing it would have cost thousands of lives, including those of many who would soon have received the vaccine. How many unnecessary deaths would the CRG tolerate? This choice cannot be waved away with a magic wand with the word “freedom” on it.  

The CRG argues that the tiered system is “clearly failing to break the transmission of Covid-19”, conveniently ignoring the evidence that cases are rising exponentially in parts of the south hit by the new strain, while the figures are less worrying in the north. The need to stop the new strain spreading to the rest of the country is obvious.  

Mr Harper and Mr Baker demand “a clear exit strategy” which “offers hope and optimism for 2021”. Yet the only real exit strategy is offered by the vaccine – and tougher restrictions are the only bridge to it. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said yesterday that the tier 4 curbs might have to last for a couple of months while the vaccine is rolled out – a more honest and hard-headed message than Mr Johnson was willing to deliver during the Christmas period until the evidence about the new strain forced him to rethink.  

Tory lockdown sceptics are gunning for Mr Hancock, with Sir Charles Walker, vice-chair of the 1922 Committee, calling on him to resign. He suspects ministers knew they were going to “pull the plug on Christmas” but deliberately waited until after MPs had left Westminster. There is no evidence for this; it appears that ministers were not informed about the seriousness of the new strain until Friday.  

The Tory critics’ real target, of course, is Mr Johnson. There will be a moment for a reckoning about his performance during the pandemic, which will be a matter for the whole country as well as his party. The official inquiry he has promised will need to address whether he repeated the mistakes made in the first wave. But that moment is not now, when the government must focus on the immediate crisis. Nor would Mr Hancock’s resignation achieve anything.  

Mr Johnson should ignore the siren voices in his own party and feel secure in the knowledge that no prime minister could have acted differently given the evidence about the new strain. His message to his internal critics should be to take a leaf out of their heroine Margaret Thatcher’s book: there really is no alternative.