Tory MPs demand answers on PM's Christmas Covid plans
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Boris Johnson is under pressure from his own benches to reveal more detail over his Christmas Covid plan
Tory MPs are demanding answers from Boris Johnson over whether he plans to introduce new Covid restrictions ahead of the Christmas holidays.
The PM held a two-hour meeting with his cabinet on Monday to talk about the spread of the new Omicron variant.
But after the lengthy discussions, he did not reveal any new measures.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday that the government was "keeping the situation under constant review, but can't rule anything out".
Many in the Conservative Party have been voicing their frustration over the lack of detail from Downing Street, alongside their scepticism of the need for tougher restrictions.
Tory MP Mark Harper, a former government chief whip, said it was "unacceptable" not to tell the public what was going on.
It is also understood that many in cabinet remain unconvinced that new measures are needed without further evidence on the impact of Omicron.
But the UK is facing record Covid cases and some scientists are warning the government needs to act early to prevent a wave of infections in the coming months.
MPs from across the House of Commons will be briefed on the latest data by England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance at 18:00 GMT.
For once it was a "genuine discussion" at cabinet about what to do next.
Several ministers made it clear they're not convinced the data currently justifies closing businesses and inflicting another hit on the economy. They want to wait for more evidence that Omicron is as severe as previous variants.
Some would accept more guidance on social distancing, rather than changes in the law, and point to recent behavioural change that proves people can be trusted to make their own choices.
They emphasised that with a successful vaccine programme the country isn't in the same situation as it was last year, and they want to set an "incredibly high bar" for more restrictions.
On the other side are those like the health secretary who feel it's time to look beyond the modelling at what's actually happening in London's hospitals.
What does the PM think? He chose not to act immediately, but that might not last long.
There could come a moment quite soon when Boris Johnson will have to confront his cabinet and his party.
The PM would not say on Monday if any action would be taken ahead of Christmas, but told reporters the government "reserve the possibility of taking further action to protect the public".
Pushed again over whether there would be new restrictions this week, Mr Sunak said: "I absolutely appreciate people's frustration with all of this [but] I refer people to the prime minister's words."
He added: "Unfortunately we're just dealing with an enormous amount of uncertainty at the moment."
Labour has joined the calls for more clarity, with shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Pat McFadden, saying "public health has to be the top consideration", not "internal political considerations inside the Conservative Party".
He told the BBC: "The big question on people's minds is can the PM take the decisions necessary... or is he now such a prisoner of Tory divisions that he can't put public health first because he's too worried about what will get past his cabinet and what will get past his backbenchers?"
On Monday, a further 91,743 Covid cases were reported across the UK - the second highest daily total on record.
The high case numbers have meant many people are now off work and self-isolating, while others have cancelled bookings or events to try to avoid becoming infected in the run-up to Christmas
The government has urged people to be "cautious" as infections rise, but stopped short of introducing tougher restrictions since it passed its Plan B measures last week - including Covid passes for certain large venues.
Those measures, however, led to a lot of anger in the Conservative Party and 100 backbench MPs rebelled on the vote, which only passed after Labour supported it.
Now some of those same MPs are concerned the government is planning to introduce even tougher restrictions and are frustrated with the wait to find out.
'Show us your workings'
Mr Harper tweeted: "Not telling the public what's going on is unacceptable. These are big decisions affecting everyone's lives, people's livelihoods and mental wellbeing across the country.
"We all deserve to see the data Ministers see. Show us your workings."
His Conservative colleague, Dehenna Davison, also called for answers, tweeting: "In the last two days, I've had pubs and restaurants contact me asking if they should place food and drinks orders.
"I've had emails from people asking if they should postpone their wedding for the [fifth] time, or if they can see their mum on Christmas.
"We really need some certainty."
Veteran backbencher Peter Bone said Parliament should be recalled at this "critical time" for MPs to "scrutinise the government over the current Covid situation and whether there are to be new restrictions or not".
Cabinet Office Minister Steve Barclay said the PM had "given a commitment" that if new regulations were needed, Parliament would be recalled, but he told BBC Breakfast: "We are not at that stage."
'Balance to be struck'
Mr Barclay was asked repeatedly whether new measures could be introduced in before Christmas, but while he accepted there was "uncertainty", he would not say either way.
Instead, he said: "We are looking very closely [at the data], particularly at the London hospital admissions.
"But at the same time we have got to recognise there are very severe economic consequences to further restrictions.
"There is a balance to be struck between protecting lives and livelihoods and that is why we are looking so closely at this data."
Mr Barclay also urged businesses to "continue to plan for the bookings they have".
And Mr Sunak announced additional support for UK firms to get through the uncertain period, including one-off grants of up to £6,000 per premises and £30m of additional cash for the Culture Recovery Fund.