A BOURNEMOUTH MP has warned the government against "letting our guard down" in easing the coronavirus restrictions at Christmas.

Tobias Ellwood, MP for Bournemouth East, backed calls for Bournemouth to be moved from Tier 2 of the restrictions into the less strict Tier 1.

But he also warned that relaxing the rules too far at Christmas could lead to a third wave of Covid-19 in the new year. 

His remarks came as health secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons that London would enter Tier 3 of the coronavirus restrictions, along with parts of Essex and Hertfordshire.

Mr Ellwood asked the health secretary to consider moving Bournemouth and the rest of Dorset into Tier 1, saying the statistics bore out the idea and “the hospitality industry would be most grateful”.

But he added: “2020 has been the most testing of years. 2021 should be different because of that vaccine. My concern is that letting down our guard for five days during Christmas could be very dangerous indeed.

“Could I ask the secretary of state to review those conditions, which I think were put together some time ago, come back to the House and present an updated version so we don’t begin the new year with a third wave?”

Mr Hancock replied: “I take my right honourable friend’s views on this very seriously and I would say to everybody in Bournemouth and across the country that the best way they can help their area come into a lower tier is by exercising personal restraint – not seeing the rules as something to push against but rather to act well within them as much as possible to ensure that this virus doesn’t spread.”

Mr Ellwood’s intervention followed a plea from West Dorset MP Chris Loder for his constituency to be moved from Tier 2 into Tier 1 when arrangements are reviewed later this week.

Mr Loder said of West Dorset: “It is a very rural seat. Part of the west is 55 miles away from the commercial centre of Bournemouth, which is the driving force of our tiering in rural Dorset.

“We have consistently maintained low numbers of cases and on Friday we just had one person in our county hospital.

“Can I ask my right honourable friend, whilst I understand full well he’s had to consider the increase of tiering for different places in the United Kingdom today, that he will also for Wednesday consider the reduction of tiering to Tier 1 where that is appropriate as I think Dorset is?”

Mr Hancock replied: “I will look at it extremely closely after my honourable friend’s entreaty and I have been noticing that both in West Dorset and in Bournemouth the number of cases has been coming down.

“I would say to everybody stick at it, stick at the rules and do everything you can to reduce the number of transmissions and that’s the most likely way of getting into Tier 1.”