Brexit Minister Lord Frost has resigned from the UK government due to “concerns about the current mode of travel”.
In a letter to Boris Johnson, a peer who led the Brexit talks, he said he hoped the PM would “not be tempted” by “coercive measures” to deal with Covid.
Earlier this week, Mr Johnson faced a major upheaval in his leadership from members of the Tory Parliament over measures to reduce the spread of the new Omicron.
But the UK recorded a record number of days, 90,418 on Saturday alone.
And more than 10,000 that day were confirmed as Omicron diseases.
Scientific advisers also warned that the number of people admitted to a hospital in England could reach 3,000 a day without any restrictions.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid described Lord Frost as “an outstanding public servant”, telling the BBC’s Andrew Marr that although he did not agree with his statement, the minister had “resigned out of regulation … and we should respect that”.
But Labor Deputy President Angela Rayner said the resignation had suggested that the government was “in a crisis where the country is facing a few weeks of uncertainty”.
Ministers received a briefing on the latest Covid details on Saturday afternoon and the Cobra emergency committee meeting is expected to take place at 17:00 GMT.
And Mr Javid warned that “there are no guarantees” that more borders will be brought.
There are no guarantees of new Covid - Javid restrictions
Lord Frost's letter of resignation in full
Brexit border problem: A simple guideLord Frost’s resignation also comes after a major defeat in the Conservatives’ by-elections, which lost a secure North Shropshire seat to the Liberal Democrats.
The Mail newspaper on Sunday, which reported the news for the first time, said it submitted a letter of resignation last week, due to disagreements with the Covid curbs.
But in a letter to the prime minister, Lord Frost said: “Now that the January release has been announced, he will leave immediately.”
He wrote that Mr Johnson was “an outstanding leader” during the Brexit riots, and the two “had the same understanding” of their intentions in the area.
But after “Brexit is now safe”, he added: “You know my concern about the current way of going.
“I hope we will move as fast as we can to where we need to be: a less controlled economy, lower taxes, business, the end of modern science and economic transformation.”
‘Coercive measures’
Lord Frost further expressed his concern about the government’s handling of the virus, saying the country needed to “learn to live with Covid”.
“I know that this too is a feeling,” she wrote. “He took a bold decision in July, against many opponents, to reopen the country.
“Unfortunately it did not go backwards, as I wished, and I believe you did too.
“I hope we can get back on track soon and be tempted by the kind of coercive measures we’ve seen elsewhere.”
In his response, Mr Johnson did not mention the critical issues of the letter, but said the former minister should now be “very proud of your historic work in this government and in this country”.
Mr Javid told Andrew Marr that Lord Frost “had a right to his views,” but added: “My opinion is about how to travel, how to deal with this epidemic, which was unexpected when we won the last general election. , but also the continuation of the essentials of the British people… all of this is a very important part of the government’s experience. ”
He said he did not want to “limit human freedom” by Covid’s actions, but added: “The British people understand this epidemic requires extraordinary action and that is what it was last week.”
Asked if there were any alternatives to be announced after the closure of the pre-Christmas circuit, Mr Javid said: “There are no guarantees for this epidemic. At the moment we have to review everything.”
But the health secretary said “it will be up to parliament to decide” if any further restrictions come into effect.