the prime minister has defended
england's new coronavirus restrictions
that begin when lockdown
ends next wednesday many conservative
mps reacted angrily when it was revealed
that almost the entire country would be
placed into the two highest tiers
with many areas that have low infection
rates facing tougher controls than
before
they're calling for a more locally
targeted approach
boris johnson said he realized it was
frustrating but insisted that the
restrictions were necessary to curb the
disease
our deputy political editor vicky young
has spent the day in kent
which is going into the toughest here
it's not the festive reopening they've
been hoping for
and once again this bar will have to
adapt customers won't be allowed to sit
in
and enjoy the craft beer so owner alex
is setting up
as a shop most businesses were getting
prepared to
get back open in some way shape or form
so to kind of have the rug pulled from
under
him at the last minute is it's quite a
shock and it's
yeah it's upsetting i guess really to be
in this situation
especially when we tried so hard as an
industry to be covered secure and we've
put in so many measures
in tunbridge there are few coronavirus
cases
but high numbers in a couple of areas of
kent have pushed the whole county
into the toughest restrictions and it's
like when you're um
when you're at school and you behave the
whole lesson
and then there's one kid at the back
that hasn't behaved
actually that we were quite shocked that
we were i don't we were expecting to be
in tier three
um and quite as new mums struggling
being alone and stuck in the house a lot
the government's got to put a line
somewhere
i mean you put a line through the middle
of kent
nobody's going to know where it is are
they the prime minister hopes that
eventually
vaccines and mass testing will help
control the virus
today he toured public health england
labs at porton down
but for now the tier system will dictate
what rules we must live with
totally understand why people feel so
frustrated but
the difficulty is that if you did it any
other way first of all
you'd divide the country up into loads
and loads of very complicated
subdivisions there's got to be some
simplicity and some clarity
in the way that we do this but furious
conservative mps have been lobbying for
a more
targeted approach look of course he's
right that we need simplicity
and clarity but we also need to be it to
be appropriate
we're asking people to make very serious
sacrifices personal sacrifices economic
sacrifices
and that's why it's important that what
we ask people to do is entirely
appropriate to the situation
they find themselves in labor's not
against the title restrictions which mps
will vote on next week
but it wants more financial support for
those who have to isolate
boris johnson might have to rely on
opposition mps to get his plans through
there have been howls of protest from
many conservative mps who are
particularly worried
about the hospitality trade but the
government is taking a tougher approach
this time round after scientists said
that the tier system simply wasn't
working
now mps in places like kent are pinning
all their hopes
on a review in two weeks time
shops those that have survived will
reopen across the whole of england next
week
but many pubs and restaurants face an
uncertain future
vicki young bbc news tonbridge