Politics

Plans for the 4.1 per cent hike sparked fury when they were set out in October.

Yet the Home Secretary has refused to walk over similar misdemeanours.

He called new coronavirus measures "a major infringement on a right to a family life".

According to research by union GMB public-sector employees outnumber new MPs’ majorities in 43 out of the 54 seats that the Conservatives won from Labour last year.

However, Sage colleague Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter said it is “perfectly reasonable” to return to a tiered approach but warned a national easing over Christmas will have costs.

This drop is partly driven by 2019 Labour voters, whose confidence in the party leader has fallen slightly following his suspension of the whip from Jeremy Corbyn.

“We should not be going for a deal at any price, that would be the wrong thing to do and I think there are things that are important to us in these negotiations, and we’ve been entirely, as I said, reasonable, consistent and transparent.”

“Once again, untrustworthy Johnson has demonstrated the Tories don’t care about the needs of the people of Scotland. The only way to properly protect Scotland’s interests is to become an independent, European country.”

Downing Street Press Office did not deny suggestions that Boris Johnson had tried to tone down report on Priti Patel's behaviour.