DORSET South MP Richard Drax has spoken of his dismay that ‘ludicrous’ Covid restrictions have been reintroduced – as he declared: “Hope and freedom are the foundation of any democracy, and they are being ripped away from us.”

The MP said he will be voting against the introduction of ‘Plan B’ measures when they are debated in the House of Commons on Tuesday - and implored his fellow MPs to do the same.

Mr Drax has been an outspoken opponent of liberty-restricting measures imposed by the Government throughout the later stages of the pandemic, and he questioned the evidence behind the latest restrictions.

They were announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a press conference on Wednesday evening – just hours after video footage emerged of his advisors laughing about an alleged Christmas party at a Downing Street flat last Christmas while the rest of the country was locked down, leading to national outcry.

Under the new regulations announced in response to the emergence of the Omicron variant, Covid passports will become mandatory in nightclubs and venues where crowds gather, including unseated indoor venues with more than 500 people, seating outdoor venues with more than 4,000 people and any venue with more than 10,000 people.

Face coverings will also become mandatory in more indoor settings and people are being advised to work from home – although he urged people to still attend Christmas parties.

Mr Drax said: “I was looking forward to the Prime Minister saying that we must all ‘keep calm and carry on’. That’s the message I believe he should be giving to the country.

“Instead, he came out with these ludicrous restrictions with little evidence for them. Once more we are moving towards lockdown with restrictions imposed on us at a time when the country is just beginning to get back on its feet.

“Hope and freedom are the foundations of any democracy, and they are being ripped away without any evidence to support the reasons why.”

The measures have been introduced in response to rising cases of the Omicron variant, although health advisors from across the world have said symptoms so far have been mild and it has currently caused no deaths.

“It just doesn’t make sense – there is no logic,” said Mr Drax. “So, I can go to the pub and a Christmas party but I’m advised to work from home?

"These variants will continue to hit us for years to come and this country cannot go on reacting to these variants in the way we’re doing when there’s no evidence to support it.

“We will destroy the country emotionally and economically. The human cost of this is vast.

“I know I can speak for some of my colleagues, because they have spoken out themselves, to say we are very angry, disappointed and disillusioned.

“I think the timing does look suspicious. We were not going to be updated until December 21 and then suddenly we were told we were moving to Plan B following the very bad handling of an event – if indeed it was an event.

“I will be voting against these measures. It is not good enough to say they are being introduced ‘just in case’. Life is all about taking measured risks, not to keep taking away hard-fought freedoms on the basis of what a variant might do, not what it does.”

During the press conference, Mr Johnson also raised the prospect of mandatory vaccines for the public, calling for a ‘national conversation’ about how to defend the country from future Covid threats.

He said the country could not ‘keep going indefinitely’ introducing restrictions ‘just because a substantial proportion of the population still sadly, has not got vaccinated’ and added that, although he had been very reluctant to consider such moves, he now thought a debate was needed.

In response, Mr Drax said: “The only conversation we need to have about mandatory vaccination is, ‘no’.”