British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced intense pressure after nearly 100 MPs from his party broke ranks and voted against new coronavirus restrictions, reports AFP.

Even though the measures were passed, the scale of the rebellion from all sections of Johnson's ruling Conservatives was a very public shot across the bows.

“It was a very clear message that colleagues are not happy with how the government is operating at the moment,” Mark Harper, who served as a parliamentary enforcer for former Conservative PM Theresa May, told Times Radio.

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