Boris Johnson bids to save premiership by ending Plan B

The Prime Minister is reportedly hoping that announcing the end of some of England’s Covid restrictions will save his premiership that has become mired in the partygate scandal.

Boris Johnson and his Cabinet will examine the latest Covid-19 data before making a statement in the Commons on Wednesday afternoon amid plots from MPs to oust him by handing in letters of no confidence to the 1922 Committee.

England’s Plan B measures – which include guidance to work from home, the use of the Covid pass and mandatory mask wearing in shops and on public transport – are set to expire on January 26.

The WHO has warned against ending Plan B restrictions “prematurely” as the coronavirus is “constantly evolving”.

But Health Secretary Sajid Javid told MPs on Tuesday that he was “cautiously optimistic that we will be able to substantially reduce restrictions next week”.

No final decisions have yet been made, although any attempt to extend the restrictions beyond the cut-off date would trigger a fresh confrontation with Tory MPs, something the Prime Minister would wish to avoid as his position has already been weakened due to the row over Downing Street parties.

It came as “febrile” rumours swirled around that as many as 20 of the Red-Wall MPs from the 2019 election were considering handing in letters to the 1922 Committee that could signal the beginning of the end of Mr Johnson’s leadership.

54 letters are needed to spark a leadership race with current Chancellor Rishi Sunak the bookies favourite ahead of Foreign Secretary Lizz Truss.

Despite the scare, most MPs and senior Conservative figures are believed to be waiting for Sue Gray’s report before deciding whether to oust the PM.

The PM’s former right-hand-man turned supergrass Dominic Cummings revealed he would be providing evidence to the inquiry mocking the PM’s “catastrophic” defence that “nobody told him” he was attending a party May 20.

Asked whether restrictions would be lifted during a visit to a hospital on Tuesday, Mr Johnson said: “We’ve got to be careful about Covid. We’ve got to continue to remember that it’s a threat.”

The Plan B measures were introduced to combat the wave of cases driven by the Omicron variant, with the aim of buying time to offer more booster jabs.

Reports have suggested the Government may choose to lift the most economically significant measures – working from home and the Covid pass – while keeping the requirement to wear masks.

A Government spokesman said: “Decisions on the next steps remain finely balanced.

“Plan B was implemented in December to slow the rapid spread of the extremely transmissible Omicron variant, and get more jabs in arms.

“It’s thanks to the phenomenal efforts of the NHS and many dedicated volunteers that we have now delivered over 36 million boosters to people across the UK.

“The Omicron variant continues to pose a significant threat and the pandemic is not over.

“Infections remain high but the latest data is encouraging, with cases beginning to fall. Vaccines remain our best line of defence and we urge people to come forward, to give themselves the best possible protection.”

A further 438 people were reported to have died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid on Tuesday bringing the total by that measure to 152,513.

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