THE government is set to delay a vote on the coronavirus curfew due later today for fear of a major backbench rebellion against 10pm pub closing times.

Ahead of the vote, backbench MPs have claimed that the measure is not justified and will damage the economy. Chancellor Rishi Sunak has defended it by insisting that the alternative was for venues to close altogether.

The Tory rebels also pushed for ministers to scrap the so-called “rule of six” before a vote takes place tonight.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged MPs to back the rule, with his official spokesman describing the ban as a “sensible and helpful” measure.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that his party would support the government on the issue.

He added: “There are, of course, arguments about whether it should be six or a different number. I think clarity and simplicity is really important here and therefore we will support the rule of six tonight.”

Ahead of the planned curfew vote Steve Baker, who has organised a meeting with like-minded party colleagues to discuss tactics, said that he “wouldn’t expect to win a vote on either issue” and that they would “try to persuade the government to have restrictions which don’t do more harm than good.”

But the government was sufficiently scared to postpone the vote, with the Telegraph reporting that ministers were “running scared.”

Professor Neil Ferguson of Imperial College London, whose modelling contributed to the decision to order the original lockdown in March, warned that further measures could be needed to curb the surge in infections.

Prof Ferguson added that the most important thing was to reduce contacts between households, though he famously breached lockdown rules himself, forcing him to resign in May.

Prof Ferguson also said that contact-tracing data showed that people going to bars and restaurants was a risk factor in contracting the virus, and that closing such venues should be considered in “hotspot” areas where case numbers are increasing.

There was a risk of the NHS becoming overwhelmed, with the number of the deaths, hospital admissions and beds occupied by Covid-19 patients doubling every two weeks, he added.