TORY insiders have accused Boris Johnson of relying too much on Michael Gove for advice on Covid policy as the Prime Minister faces yet more criticism from his own party.

Gove is the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary as well as the minister for intergovernmental relations, but has no direct brief for Covid policy.

Despite this, current and former Tory ministers have said that Gove is a "dangerous force" in the Cabinet and that he is pushing too hard for more restrictions, according to the Mail on Sunday.

Johnson suffered the biggest rebellion of his reign after he announced new Covid rules including the use of vaccine certificates for nightclubs and other large venues.

Many in the party have been vocally against imposing any new curbs to stop the spread of the Omicron Covid variant and have reportedly advised Johnson to move any advisers allied to Gove out of the heart of government.

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One senior Tory MP described Gove as the ring-leader of pro-lockdown ministers, adding that a lot of others think "Mr Gove has become a very dangerous force within the Cabinet".

A Cabinet minister has described Gove as "the octopus" due to him getting involved in matters for which he has no ministerial brief and MPs say that his personal relationship with Johnson is exerting undue influence on Covid policy.

One MP said that Gove makes Johnson "feel comfortable" and he believes that Gove is "the one who delivers".

Due to his positions in favour of lockdown during the first and second waves, one insider says that the stance is now "ingrained in him that this is what we need to do".

An ally of Gove rejected the criticism, saying: "Yes Boris speaks to Michael – because he’s the most effective Cabinet Minister. So what?

"But Michael is not seeing the data, he’s not in the quad [of senior ministers]. There is a limit to what he can do on this."

The UK Government has been under pressure to introduce new restrictions in England to stop the spread of the Omicron Covid variant after the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland announced measures before Christmas.

From Boxing Day in Scotland, there are limits on the number of people that can attend public events which will be in place for three weeks.

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From Monday, December 27, people are being asked to limit their social contacts for a week with the guidance to be reviewed after that. There will also be limits on hospitality and leisure settings including table service for venues serving alcohol and social distancing.

Wales has implemented stricter rules on the number of people allowed at public events while Northern Ireland has cancelled all indoor standing events and closed nightclubs.

The UK Government has been holding out introducing new restrictions with the Cabinet unlikely to discuss new measures until Monday.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is expected to speak to Government officials on Boxing Day over the prospect of a recall of Parliament to approve any pre-New Year measures.

The only guidance that has been issued so far for England is a suggestion from Johnson to voluntarily reduce social contacts before Christmas.

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