Boris Johnson sacks Tory MP Andrew Rosindell for voting against new COVID restrictions
BORIS JOHNSON has sacked one of his trade envoys after he rebelled against the Government on the latest raft of coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
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Romford MP Andrew Rosindell said he felt “sad” to be leaving his role as trade envoy to Tanzania. He called his sacking “counterproductive and bizarre” as he hit out at Mr Johnson in a Twitter rant. Over the past week he has been highly critical of the Prime Minister’s three tier lockdown plan, which he said would inflict huge damage on the economy and people’s mental health.
He tweeted: “It has been an honour and a privilege to serve as the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Tanzania since 2018 and represent my country, supporting our Global Britain agenda with our Commonwealth friends.
“I thank @theresa_may for appointing me in 2018 and giving me this opportunity.”
He added: “It puzzles me how @BorisJohnson can allow such a counterproductive and bizarre decision to remove me from office, simply for voting to keep our UK economy open for business.
“Yes, we must fight the virus and all threats to the health of our nation, taking every precaution.
"However, closing down whole sections of our economy, putting companies out of business, creating mass unemployment and taking away the freedom that British people cherish, is not the answer and it won’t work. Freedom with responsibility is what I thought @Conservatives stood for!"
Mr Rosindell, a Brexit-supporting MP, lost his top job as trade envoy last night.
He supported Mr Johnson in last summer's Tory leadership contest.
Ministers have faced huge opposition to the three tier lockdown system being rolled out across England.
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Their dispute with Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham over a financial package ahead of Tier 3 restrictions continued this week.
The area's 2.8 million residents are set to move into the highest level of restrictions on Friday.
Speaking to the Romford Recorder last week after he opposed the Government's latest attempt to slap restrictions on hard-hit communities, Mr Rosindell said many of his constituents joined him in "questioning what is happening at the moment".
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He added: “Of course we all want to defeat this terrible virus, but I fear that what the Government is doing could unwittingly be creating a cure which ends up being worse than the problem itself.
“The result of new restrictions will be enormous economic damage and worsening mental health issues, as millions up and down this country face months of isolation away from family and friends.
“I am not convinced that the Government has got that right, and my vote on Tuesday reflected that belief to make a clear point.”
Over the coming days millions more people in parts of northern England will face stringent coronavirus restrictions.
In South Yorkshire some 1.4 million people in Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield will be affected by Tier 3 measures from Saturday morning.
The package of support agreed includes £11 million to invest in a localised test and trace system - equivalent to around £8 per capita.
A further £30 million of support for businesses affected by the restrictions, as well as their employees, will be offered. This equates to approximately £22 per capita.
While civic leaders in Greater Manchester demanded the Government hand over £65m in support for the region’s 2.8m residents, No10 has only agreed to give £22m.
However, the £60 million figure - which is in line with the offer for South Yorkshire of approximately £22 per capita - for business support is said to remain "on the table".