Sources close to Government officials told the Mail on Sunday the Prime Minister “hates the idea of lockdowns”, and was pressured into renewing the measures by Mr Gove, Mr Hancock, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Chief medical officer Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance.
One told the outlet: “He kept saying ‘there’s no evidence they even work’ and that ‘it goes against everything I’ve stood for’.
“But he was outnumbered – and ended up sitting in sullen silence as the others told him he had no choice.”
A source close to Mr Gove also claimed the minister convinced Mr Johnson to impose the second lockdown after he said “there would be a catastrophe”.
