Kent is expected to remain in Tier 4 until late February at the earliest after a new strain of coronavirus was discovered in the county.

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Health secretary Matt Hancock has revealed the mutation - named VUI – 202012/0 - could be 70% more contagious and "out of control", but a Kent MP has joined the voices calling for more information to be revealed and a debate on the new restrictions.

The announcement that the new strain had been found by Mr Hancock last Monday eventually led to Boris Johnson calling off Christmas relaxation plans on Saturday, with the news it may be 'out of control' resulting in France and several other nations shutting their borders on yesterday, leading to thousands of lorries being stranded.

And with an exit plan other than the roll out of the virus not forthcoming backbench MPs and some experts are demanding more evidence on why such strict measures - which essentially amount to a third lockdown in Kent and large swathes of the south and east - are considered necessary.

South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay took to Twitter over the weekend to join that chorus.

He wrote: "The proper place to receive new evidence and analysis #COVID19 is @HouseofCommons. What does the mutation mean? I appreciate govt has to act fast in some instances but the new #Tier4 what it means & why, must be debated and voted upon. There is no option but to #RecallParliament."

He is not the only backbencher calling for an urgent vote, Sir Desmond Swayne accused Boris Johnson of "keeping MPs in the dark" before announcing the drastic u-turn after they were back in their constituencies for Christmas.

Sir Charles Walker, an outspoken critic of lockdown with particular concerns of its impact on mental health, echoed his words.

Meanwhile, an organisation is attempting to bring together those who think there are alternative ways of handling the crisis.

Recovery has challenged Mr Hancock to reveal further details.

Professor Nick Loman, of the Covid-19 Genomics UK (COG UK) consortium, cast doubt on claims the strain was new, as his organisation identified it in September, or that it was more contagious given the evidence available, which the government has admitted is limited.

Professor Sharon Peacock, COG Director, added: “We are still dealing with very thin evidence at the moment about this variant.”

As a result Recovery is calling on Mr Hancock to publish evidence for his claims about transmissibility and when the government first became aware of it.

Professor David Livermore, an expert in Medical Microbiology at the University of East Anglia, also questioned the information, saying the fact the strain was recorded in September but is only now spreading rapidly "doesn’t fit with super-infectiousness", he suggested the high concentration in Kent and east Anglia could be explained by the fact Covid-19 has previously had a relatively small impact on those areas.

Jon Dobinson, campaign director of Recovery, added: "It increasingly seems as though Matt Hancock and his advisors are carrying out an all-out marketing campaign for harsh restrictions rather than taking a balanced and proportionate approach”

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