MATT Hancock has been accused of not acting like a true Conservative by Shipley MP Philip Davies as he came under fire from MPs for imposing a 10pm curfew on pubs and restaurants.

Arguing that the “arbitrary” curfew is limiting people’s freedoms, Mr Davies called on the Health Secretary to “start acting like a Conservative” and stop presiding over a “nanny state”.

But Mr Hancock warned that “hundreds of thousands of deaths” could follow if coronavirus is allowed to “rip” through the country once more.

Mr Davies told Mr Hancock that the 10pm curfew is a “socialist approach which is serving no purpose at all apart from the further collapse of the economy”.

He said: “Is the Secretary of State aware of the damage the arbitrary 10pm curfew is doing to pubs, restaurants, bowling alleys and casinos?

“Is he aware of the jobs that are being lost, all just to see people congregating on the streets instead and shop staff getting more abuse?

“When will the Secretary of State start acting like a Conservative with a belief in individual responsibility and abandon this arbitrary, nanny state, socialist approach which is serving no purpose at all apart from the further collapse of the economy and to erode our freedoms?”

Mr Hancock replied that he “profoundly” disagrees with Mr Davies as he believes in “individual responsibility and the promotion of freedom, subject to not harming others”.

The Health Secretary added: “So it is perfectly reasonable to make the argument that we should just let the virus rip, I just think that the hundreds of thousands of deaths that would follow is not a price that anyone should pay.”

Tory former minister Andrew Jones urged Mr Hancock to “commit to keeping the restrictions under the closest possible review”.

Mr Jones said: “Restrictions curbing when we can go to the pub is against the DNA of our country, but we are in exceptional times and I recognise that includes taking measures which people don’t like and ministers don’t like having to introduce.”

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat MP Daisy Cooper (St Albans) said “lives and livelihoods” were being put at risk by the 10pm curfew, as she urged ministers to scrap the new measure which has been “a hammer-blow” to the hospitality sector.

Mr Hancock replied: “The virus spreads most outside of households when other households meet together, including in hospitality venues.”

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth also raised concerns about people “piling out” of pubs at the same time and causing crowds.

Mr Ashworth asked: “What action will he take so we don’t see a repeat this weekend of people piling out into city centres, packing out public transport, sometimes all piling in to a supermarket to buy more drink?”

Mr Hancock did not respond directly to Mr Ashworth’s concerns.

Other MPs, including Tory Sarah Dines (Derbyshire Dales), asked whether the 10pm curfew could be reduced to a regionalised policy only enforced in areas with higher infection rates.

Miss Dines said: “Can (Mr Hancock) consider opening locally early where people can prove good compliance and there are very low infection rates, because we have to allow the economy to get back up and running again?”

Mr Hancock replied: “Our approach is to take as minimum national action as necessary to ensure that the rates do stay low in Derbyshire and the areas where it is low, whilst also, of course, taking more actions in areas where the virus is rife.

“And that is the approach that we’ll be strengthening over the weeks to come.”

The Health Secretary later opted to focus on the successes of the Covid-19 response when challenged to take personal responsibility for testing woes in parts of the country.

Asked by Labour’s Karl Turner whether he feels “any personal responsibility for the utter chaos that is putting lives and livelihoods at risk”, Mr Hancock replied: “I feel personal responsibility for the record number of tests that are being done in this country.

“I feel personal responsibility for the fact that the vast majority of people in Hull and across the country can get a test within six miles of where they live, and get the test results back – the majority of them – the next day.

“I feel personal responsibility for the biggest contact tracing programme that this country has ever seen with the support of the armed forces, the NHS, brilliant civil servants and the private sector working together.

“I think it’s that sort of coming together we need to get through this virus.”