Coronavirus: ‘Rule of six’ doesn’t make sense, say rebel Tory MPs

Rebel Tories have clashed with a health minister over the ban on gatherings of more than six people in England, arguing it doesn’t make sense.

The government easily won the vote on retaining the rule by 287 votes to 17 – a majority of 270.

But backbenchers, like senior Tory Sir Graham Brady, said the “rule of six” was not based on scientific evidence.

Minister Helen Whately said the government could not allow coronavirus to “rip” through communities.

The comment angered former minister Mark Harper, who said MPs “all want the government to be successful” in combating the virus, but they had legitimate concerns about how they were going about it.

Labour agreed with many of the Tories’ points in the Commons debate, but the party did not vote against the restrictions, which came into force three weeks ago.