A CONSERVATIVE group chairman has resigned over the Tory’s “tyrannical direction” and the suggestion that Covid-19 vaccines could become mandatory.

Charlie Sansom, the now former chair of South Basildon Conservatives, announced his resignation yesterday after Boris Johnson revealed new “Plan B” restrictions and entertained the notion of mandatory vaccinations.

At a Downing Street press conference on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said if the vaccines are shown to be capable of “holding” the Omicron variant then “there is going to come a point” when “we are going to have to have a conversation about ways in which we deal with this pandemic,” alluding to mandatory vaccines.

Mr Sansom, who had been a Conservative party member for three years and chair of the South Basildon group for more than two, said the Government should not have the power two “shove the vaccine down people’s throats”.

Revealing he was double vaccinated himself, Mr Sansom said: “There should be no conversation about mandatory vaccinations at all. It should be adults making informed decisions with the facts that they have to hand.”

“It has made my position in the party untenable. I can’t advocate for people to join the Conservatives because the party is moving in a tyrannical direction.

“Boris Johnson talking about mandatory vaccines means, come the new year, I believe there will be mandatory vaccinations. I would bet any amount of money on that.”

Mr Sansom has also outlined his opposition to the PM's new "Plan B" restrictions which include work-from-home guidance, Covid health certificates for large venues and an extension of mask rules.

“I think it’s a terrible idea," he said. "I think that what the Government are trying to do, introducing vaccine passports is all about control.

“I don’t understand why they want to control us in this way, but I do believe it is about control. Vaccine passports are so discriminatory against people that maybe cannot have the vaccine for medical reasons, or refuse to because they already have had Covid, or refuse to out of choice."

Mr Johnson has also come under fire from his health secretary Sajid Javid who said mandatory vaccination is “unethical” and added it would not work “at a practical level”.

The besieged PM has had a torrid week, after footage emerged of No. 10 joking about an alleged Christmas party last year Mr Johnson had previously denied happened.

On December 18 last year, the day of the alleged party, multiple people died with coronavirus in Southend.

Figures from the UK coronavirus daily dashboard show three deaths occurred in Southend on that date last year.

There were also 378 positive Covid-19 cases recorded in the area that same day.

Mr Johnson has ordered an investigation and told MPs he was “furious” about footage.