BARROW'S MP is undecided on whether he will back The Government ahead of the vote on the reintroduction of the tier system in the House of Commons today.

Boris Johnson has defended his plans for a tiered system to replace the national lockdown in England as he attempted to quell a rebellion against the restrictions from Tory MPs yesterday. The Prime Minister said it would be wrong to "take our foot off the throat of the beast" now, with up to 100 Conservatives, many of whom are in the Covid Recovery Group, are unhappy about the new system. He acknowledged that "lots of people think that they are in the wrong tier" but insisted the measures set to come into force on Wednesday are needed to slow the spread of Covid-19.

His comments, during a visit to a facility of pharmaceutical firm Wockhardt in Wales, where it is hoped a vaccine will be produced, came shortly before the Government published its impact assessment of the tiered approach ahead of Tuesday's crunch Commons vote.

Simon Fell, MP for Barrow and Furness, said: "I am one of the sceptical MPs waiting to see the evidence of the economic and social cost of imposing new Tier 2 restrictions on the whole of Cumbria before deciding how to vote.

"I've made no secret of the fact that I'm bitterly disappointed by the decision to put us in Tier 2.

"I want to see far more support for hospitality and it looks like the government is moving on this, but I also want a clear roadmap out to Tier 1.

"We need to protect lives and ensure that capacity remains in the NHS but we need to be certain of the costs of taking these actions."

The Mail: UNDER PRESSURE: PM Boris JohnsonUNDER PRESSURE: PM Boris Johnson

Mr Johnson insisted the tiers are needed while "the scientific cavalry really are almost here", as he said a jab could be available "in a few weeks". "We can't afford to take our foot off the throat of the beast, to take our foot off the gas, we can't afford to let it out of control again," he told reporters. "The tiering system is tough, but it's designed to be tough and to keep it under control. "I know that lots of people think that they are in the wrong tier and I understand people's frustration."

The Government published the data behind its decisions over England's new tier system yesterday afternoon.

The Covid Recovery Group's chairman, Mark Harper, said they would respond to the publication today after its own analysis, but criticised having "been given so little time to digest information".