Tory critics accuse Government of ‘twisting the fear lever’ over Covid

Boris Johnson’s Government has been accused of developing a “ministry of fear” during the pandemic, as Tory MPs voiced concerns over a future extension of Covid passes.

Tory former minister Sir Desmond Swayne insisted people are prepared to decide their “risk appetite” before suggesting the “dogs of war” had been let loose with officials, including scientific advisers to the Government, “twisting the fear lever”.

He questioned which “Stalinist minds” had thought up the name behind the UK Health Protection Agency, adding: “Get them out there twisting the fear button and by and large you will get the reaction you want, people will crave more enforcement and more fearsome measures to protect them from this great danger that is out there.”

Sir Desmond said hospitality has been left to be “collateral damage”, adding: “That’s the situation that we have delivered.

“The Government, having administered this ministry of fear, is absolutely complicit with its officials and organisations that have designed it and delivered it.

“They have abandoned in doing that any principle of social democracy, of liberal democracy, absolutely beyond anything we’ve endured in recent living memory in the history of this pandemic.

“And as a consequence, having abandoned what might have been their ideology, they are rudderless and as a consequence of that so much more at risk of the opinions and predictions of the advisers to which they are in hock.”

Conservative Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) added: “In my view the most dangerous epidemic sweeping the world and sweeping our country is an epidemic of fear. It has seriously damaged mental health and in particularly damaged the mental health of our young people, it must end.”

Tory former chief whip Mark Harper warned MPs are “kidding themselves” if they think Covid passes will remain limited to nightclubs and large venues in England as a condition of entry.

He said: “Everywhere they have been introduced, they have extended it, in terms of the venues they apply to.

“Anyone who thinks that they are going to stick to what is currently on the order paper, I am afraid are kidding themselves.”

He added: “In the Government’s own Plan B it is very clear ministers’ preference is for vaccine-only passports.

“It is very clear to me that the only reason why tests have been incorporated is to buy or secure the support of the opposition.

“That is the only reason.

“So we know what ministers would like to do if they could get away with it.”

Mr Harper also described Omicron as the “first big test” for the Government since vaccines had been widely rolled out, and said it had failed and had “no exit strategy” from lockdown-style measures.

Conservative former minister Dame Andrea Leadsom claimed the latest regulations were a “slippery slope which I do not want to slip”.

She said she had supported the Government throughout the pandemic when she could “see the present danger we faced”, adding: “But this time around the measures proposed are precautionary, just in case, and I cannot see where this will end.

“Covid will be with us for many years to come and it’s unthinkable that every autumn from now on we will be limiting the quality of life for all citizens just to be on the safe side.”

Conservative MP Dr Luke Evans (Bosworth) said he could not support Covid passes, explaining: “I worry about the slippery slope.

“What businesses, what society interactions or what infections may become in scope in future months or future years?”

Richard Drax, Conservative MP for South Dorset, asked: “Do we want the state to give back our lives and freedom?

“A monumental yes is the cry from many.”

He added: “Criminalising the people of England for breaking rules that many it seems cannot follow is not the way to win trust and confidence.

“Advise, suggest, encourage…is the way forward I would observe. It’s time to put fear to one side, put our shoulders back and get on with our lives.”

Conservative Miriam Cates (Penistone and Stocksbridge) said there had been a “permanent change to the understanding of what liberty is in this country” given the restrictions in the pandemic.

She said: “That’s why I can’t support these measures and I urge the Government – return to a society of freedom and responsibility, our constituents deserve it and they will rise to the challenge.”