Wycombe MP Steve Baker said the government is choosing the path towards “hell” as he voted against new measures to combat the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

The Prime Minister faced a backbench backlash as the House of Commons considered the requirement for face coverings to be worn in shops and public transport in England, while all travellers returning to the UK must take a PCR test and self-isolate until they receive a negative result.

All contacts of suspected Omicron cases must self-isolate, regardless of their age or vaccination status.

As part of a debate before MPs voted on whether to reintroduce stricter mask and travel requirements, Wycombe representative Steve Baker warned the government is choosing a path towards “hell”.

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The former junior Brexit minister said on Tuesday that the vote is “not really about face coverings. To me it’s not really about this issue of the coming pingdemic through the self-isolation”.

He added: “It’s about how we react and the kind of nation and civilisation we are creating in the context of this new disease.

“What is the relationship between the state and the individual? Are we to be empty vessels or mere automata—things to be managed, as if a problem?

“Or are we free spirits with, for want of a better term, a soul? We are free spirits with a soul—people who deserve the dignity of choice and the meaning in our lives that comes from taking responsibility.

“Where are we going as a society and civilisation? What will be our redemption and salvation? How will we provide that hope for our future? I believe that it will be by having faith in one another.

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“The public are not fools. We are not here to govern idiots. I have faith in the British public that they can choose for themselves to do the right thing: to wear a mask when it is sensible, to pay attention to the level of cases, to choose for themselves whether they go to a restaurant, and, indeed, to choose whether they visit vulnerable relations in care homes

“I believe that there is no plausible path set out before us which leads to a genuine public health emergency. And yet the government is choosing to react in the way that it has.

“So I think as a result the government, I’m afraid once again, is choosing that downward path towards, frankly, hell. The hell of minute management of our lives by edict, with nothing we can do about it and not even a say in advance in Parliament.

“Some of us today have got to take a decision to vote no to everything, because I for one intend to chart the course towards heaven.”

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Mr Baker’s comments provoked a mixed reaction on social media, with some thanking him for “speaking up”, while others mocked his speech as a “cringe-fest”.

Quoting some of his comments, Twitter user ‘The Secret Tory’ said: “Redemption, salvation, hope - three concepts synonymous with the Tory party that will be abandoned if Steve has to wear a mask in High Wycombe Asda.”

Author James Felton said: “Don’t want to get all popey, but the difference between heaven and hell is not whether you’re required to wear a mask in Waitrose.”

Mr Baker was one of 36 MPs to vote against the new Covid rules on November 30.