OPPOSITION MPs have blasted Boris Johnson over his handling of the Covid crisis which they claim has put people in the North-East at risk of contracting a virulent new variation of the virus.

The Prime Minister is under fire for failing to contain the new strain, which scientists have said is 70 per cent more contagious than the original infection.

Mr Johnson’s announcement on Saturday that London and South-East will be subject to tier 4 restrictions, akin to a lockdown, sparked a mass exodus from the capital as people try desperately to reach their loved ones for Christmas.

The Northern Echo:

Trains from London were packed on Saturday night

Politicians from both sides have condemned people for putting others at risk, but Labour MPs in the region have weighed in and described the Government’s handling of the current crisis as ‘chaotic’.

North Durham MP Kevan Jones said: “The Government choose to put the North-East into tier 3 weeks ago and took a political decision to exclude London despite Covid rates raising in the capital.

“The Governments shambolic approach to the pandemic from test and tracing to the basic public health messaging means people are confused having lost faith in the Governments response.

“This means there is a real prospect of people leaving the capital spreading the virus which puts at risk the sacrifices people have made in regions like the North-East.”

Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham said families will be heartbroken by the PM’s announcement, which prevents people being able to travel and curtails the mixing of households to a maximum of three on Christmas Day only.

He said: “The Prime Minister was warned about rising infection rates earlier this week and chose to ignore those them.

“He encouraged families across the country to make plans only to pull the rug on the Christmas bubble with his last minute u-turn.

“It is right that the infection rate is kept down and restrictions are in place to do this and we need real leadership from the Government to tackle this virus – not the dithering we are currently witnessing from the Prime Minister.

“It didn’t need to be like this if the Government had done what it should way back in March and then November.

“Now we have one of the worst death rates in the world and the hardest hit economy in Europe.”

On Friday Mr Johnson was urged to reconsider the relaxing of restrictions over Christmas amid fears of rising rates the possible third national lockdown in the new year.

The Northern Echo:

Andy McDonald

Andy McDonald, MP for Middlesbrough, said: “This is yet another unnecessary, and quite frankly, embarrassing u-turn by the Government.

“Rather than showing proper leadership and imposing restrictions over the Christmas period from the outset, they dithered and put the onus of the public with weak guidance. Now, when people will have made plans, they have been forced to recognise the folly of their previous stance and have, at this late stage, announced tighter restrictions.

“It has been clear from the scientists that to restrict movement now will help curb the rise in the number of cases.

“Covid doesn’t take a break for Christmas and we have to remain vigilant.

“The fact that this Government continues to lurch from one bad judgement to another leads to understandable confusion, anger and upset.

“People deserve better than that and they have been yet again let down.”

Durham County Council leader Simon Henig said it would have been far better if the  announcement from the Government on Saturday had been made earlier.

He said: "Case numbers had been rising rapidly in London and parts of the South East for some time - and had the decision been made earlier then some of the scenes on Saturday night could have been avoided.

"Alongside other North-East councils we continue to urge everyone to follow the guidance so we can continue to suppress the virus."

The Northern Echo:

Paul Howell

Paul Howell, Conservative MP for Sedgefield said the Government has been very clear of its desire to enable as normal a Christmas as possible.

He said the need to introduce these new restrictions shows how concerning the transmission level of this new variant is.

Mr Howell said: “The people crowding into stations are putting others at risk but in particular their own family and friends.

“The measures to restrict travel and meetings are to give us the best chance of the vaccine getting to people first and prevent the need for further restrictions.”

Darlington’s Conservative MP Peter Gibson said Christmas plans have had to change due to the rapidly evolving situation with spread of the virus and the mutation that is prevalent in the south east and present elsewhere.

He said: “I know everyone will be unhappy with this development. I also know that this is absolutely the last thing that the Prime Minister wanted to do.

“After the tough year we have all faced Christmas had been a window of light.

“However, we do still have the ability to see family on Christmas Day and we are seeing the roll out of the vaccine.

“If people do have to travel I would recommend that they do so in accordance with the guidelines and as safely as possible.”

A World Health Organisation official said a new strain of coronavirus in the South-East was identified in September.

Maria Van Kerkhove, Covid-19 technical lead at WHO, said “there are mutations that are identified all the time”, adding: “What is really important is that there’s a process in place to understand what these variants do and how they behave.”

Ms Van Kerkhove said the variant had also been identified in Denmark, the Netherlands and Australia – with there being one case in the latter that did not spread further.

She added: “And so more sequencing that can be done will be helpful to help us determine if this variant is circulating elsewhere.

“Sequencing will also help us understand any changes in the viruses that are being identified.

“The longer this virus spreads, the more opportunities it has to change.

“So we really need to do everything we can right now to prevent spread, and minimising that spread will reduce the chances of it changing.”