Mr Johnson made his offer to the hospitality industry in a bid to win over the Tory rebels ahead of today’s crunch vote on reintroducing the regional restrictions.
But party whips fear the vote is on a knife edge after Labour sought to exploit Tory divisions by threatening to abstain.
Sir Graham Brady, the influential chairman of the Tory backbench 1922 Committee, said he was almost certain to vote against the Government unless the regulations were amended.
He said: “I am pretty certain to vote against the Government. My concerns about the impact on civil liberties and fundamental human rights are there regardless.”
Tensions are running high over the impact the new tier system will have on the economy.
But the PM insisted the regional measures he wants to replace lockdown will strike the “right balance” to save lives while supporting the economy.
He told how he understood many were “frustrated” by the restrictions but cautioned that the country could not “afford” to let coronavirus get out of control again.
“We can’t afford to take our foot off the throat of the beast, to take our foot off the gas, we can’t afford to let it out of control again.
“The tiering system is tough, but it’s designed to be tough and to keep it under control.
“I know that lots of people think that they are in the wrong tier and I understand people’s frustration,” the Prime Minister said during a visit to North Wales.
The PM faces a major Tory rebellion in a crunch vote on Covid-19 rule changes (Image: Getty )
Hospitality is one of the sectors that will continue to suffer most under the new tiers.
Pubs in tier two will only be able to open if they serve alcohol as part of a meal.
The new rescue fund will allow local councils to give grants to venues hit by the rule.
Government insiders said they “can’t pretend it will cover everything” but hope it will go a long way to helping pubs over the Christmas period, which would usually be their busiest trading period.
Mr Johnson said yesterday that the “best thing” for the hospitality sector and the wider economy is to keep the virus under control and roll out the vaccine.
Hospitality is one of the sectors that will continue to suffer the most under the new tiers (Image: Getty )
Rebel Tory MPs were last night warned that scrapping coronavirus restrictions would lead to an “intolerable” loss of life across the country.
In a stark message ahead of the vote, a Government document claimed continuing curbs on hospitality businesses and household mixing were needed to stop the NHS being overwhelmed.
Up to 100 Tory MPs could vote against the regional restrictions due to come into force just after midnight tonight.
To try to persuade sceptical backbenchers to back the measures, the Government released an official analysis of the expected health, economic and social impact of the tiered restrictions.
But Tories expressed disappointment that the 46-page document failed to estimate the potential damage to the economy of curbs on businesses.
“It is not possible to know with any degree of confidence what path the economy would take if restrictions in place were not sufficient to prevent exponential growth or in the absence of restrictions entirely,” the document said.
Instead, it pointed towards a forecast published by the Office for Budget Responsibility last week predicting the economy will shrink by around 11% this year.
In conclusion, the document warned: “The Government’s view is that the severe loss of life and other health impacts of allowing the NHS to be overwhelmed would be intolerable for our society.”
Allowing coronavirus cases to multiply would lead to “a situation where the NHS would become overwhelmed and there would be insufficient capacity for those patients most critically in need of it, whether COVID-19 or non- COVID-19 patients,” the document said.
It added: “The corresponding cost to society of higher death rates is not one that any Government or country would willingly tolerate.”
Tory MPs were angry that the document was released last night, leaving little time for scrutiny ahead of today’s vote.
Former minister Mel Stride, chairman the Treasury Committee, said: “With little over 24 hours until MPs vote on the new tiered system, this rehashed document offers very little further in economic terms other than that which the Office for Budget Responsibility published last week.
“It’s frustrating that there is little here that sets out how the different tiers might impact on the specific sectors and regions across the country.
“Those looking for additional economic analysis of the new tiered system will struggle to find it in this document.”
Former Tory chief whip Mark Harper, chairman of the Covid Recovery Group of backbenchers questioning many of the restrictions, said: :”I am disappointed MPs, journalists and the public have been given so little time to digest information of this magnitude.
“We are, after all, talking about imposing some of the most severe restrictions on our constituents and the way they lead their lives and run their businesses.
Sir Graham Brady would like to see the regulations amended (Image: Wikipedia )
“This information is what Ministers should have been insisting on before they made their decisions so it surely could have been made available earlier.
“As I have said before, I and a number of colleagues are particularly keen to understand the likely impact of the restrictions on Covid and the full extent of some of the non-Covid health implications they have, as well as the undoubted impact on livelihoods.
“So we will read and analyse this data tonight and report back on our findings later tomorrow.”
With many rebels appearing to dig in last night, the Prime Minister could be forced to rely on Labour support to get parliamentary backing for the tier proposals.
Labour will abstain in the vote today, which means even with a major Tory rebellion the measures are still expected to pass.
Keir Starmer says Labour accepts the need for continued restrictions (Image: Getty )
Leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “Coronavirus remains a serious threat to the public’s health and that’s why Labour accepts the need for continued restrictions. We will always act in the national interest, so we will not vote against these restrictions in Parliament tomorrow.
“However, I remain deeply concerned that Boris Johnson’s Government has failed to use this latest lockdown to put a credible health and economic plan in place.”
A No10 spokesman said: “This pandemic is one of the biggest challenges facing the country in decades, and Labour have decided to abstain on it. While Keir Starmer claims he offers new leadership, it’s clear to all that he actually offers no leadership at all.
‘Keir Starmer is playing politics in the middle of a global pandemic instead of working with the government to find a way through this difficult time for the British people.
‘We will continue to engage, listen and work with MPs who have concerns. Our Covid Winter Plan provides a stable and consistent approach which will steer the country through to the spring.”
