Coronavirus latest news: Universities urge Government to act on testing Tory MPs back rebel bid to force vote on future lockdown measures Camilla Tominey: Are Johnson and Sunak pulling in different directions? No 10 rebukes Ben Wallace for accusing Labour of pursuing 'illegal wars' Chopper's Politics: Boris Johnson 'has got his mojo back and is not quitting after Brexit', says ex-minister Subscribe to The Telegraph Downing Street cannot keep "controlling the lives of 65 million people by fiat", a senior Conservative has said today, urging Number 10 to give MPs a greater say on emergency coronavirus powers. Tom Tugendhat said that the Government must "enter this conversation" if it is to head off a rebellion over the extension of restrictions next week. "It's quite clear that there's at least another six months of it as the Government has announced and it may indeed be longer than that depending on whether a vaccine comes or not, so the idea that we can have a permanent state where the Government is making emergency decisions for people and effectively controlling the lives of 65 million people by fiat is not sustainable," the MP for Tonbridge and Malling told the Today programme. Asked who was running the Government, the Foreign Affairs Committee said he was "sure" Boris Johnson was but heaped praise on the Chancellor Rishi Sunak - a view is shared by many on the backbenches, as the Prime Minister's support continues to wane. Mr Johnson was notably absent from the Commons yesterday, with backbenchers saying he was "AWOL", although Treasury minister Steve Barclay insisted this was because of social distancing restrictions. Last night 42 Tory MPs went public with backing an amendment tabled by the 1922 Committee chairman, Sir Graham Brady to require a new Parliament vote "as soon as reasonably practicable" on new powers. The overall number of Tories rebelling is likely to grow over the coming days, meaning Mr Johnson could face a real test of his leadership next week. However it is by no means certain that the amendment will be chosen by Sir Lindsay Hoyle because the vote on Wednesday is on a statutory motion. Follow the latest updates below.
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