James O'Brien defends PM over calls to provide lockdown roadmap

27 October 2020, 15:25 | Updated: 27 October 2020, 17:00

By Fiona Jones

James O'Brien announced that today was the day to defend the Government after a group of Tory MPs called for the PM give a clear lockdown exit strategy - which does not seem possible.

A collective of 55 Tory MPs in the North have signed a letter to the Prime Minister demanding a "clear roadmap" out of lockdown, as eight million people face living under the highest coronavirus restrictions by the end of the week.

MP for Barrow and Furness Simon Fell was one of the signatories and early today told LBC's Nick Ferrari the move is about "keeping the Prime Minister honest" and ensuring he fulfils his promises for the North.

However James reflected on the prospect of a roadmap: "What would that actually look like?"

"Generally speaking, you know what the score is where you are... however the idea that telling us what needs to happen before we can move down from Tier Three to Tier Two seems to me to be simple to the point of simplistic - and we all know how seductive simplistic but ultimately flawed thoughts are at the moment."

He put it to the callers to answer what a roadmap outlining moving Tier Three territories into Tier Two would look like.

If people cannot answer this, he said, my point is proven and "we do actually have to defend the Government, from their own MPs in some cases, but from everybody who thinks it is possible...to describe the clear road path out of Tier Three."