UK's Johnson urges lawmakers to back regional Covid restrictions

[LONDON] British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged lawmakers to support his new system of regional coronavirus restrictions on Tuesday, arguing in the face of criticism from his own party that the system was needed to keep the virus under control.

"With the spread of the epidemic varying across the country, there remains a compelling ... case for regional tiers in England," Mr Johnson told parliament, batting away critical interventions from several unhappy lawmakers.

Over 40 per cent of people living in England will be subject to the toughest tier of restrictions on their daily life as the government shifts to a region-by-region approach on Wednesday, when a month of national lockdown ends.

The plan has ignited a rebellion in Mr Johnson's Conservative Party, with as many as 80 of the 364 elected Conservatives already criticising the system as too draconian, badly implemented or based on insufficient evidence.

REUTERS

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