A Bromley MP is among a group urging the Government to unlock London ahead of other regions if coronavirus infection rates continue to fall faster than elsewhere.
According to the latest figures, London’s infection rate has fallen below both the North-East and North-West, having already been lower than the West and East Midlands.
The seven-day rate was 218.2 new infections per 100,000 in the week to February 4, compared to 219.4 in the North-East.
Bromley and Chislehurst MP Sir Bob Neill told the Evening Standard: “Once we are able to start moving out of lockdown, we should be prepared to look at it on a regional basis.
“It would not be right for London to be held back because people have made the sacrifices necessary to get the rates down in our areas.”
In London the seven-day infection rate has fallen to its lowest since early December, when the tier system was in place.
The capital is also the only region recording a week-by-week fall in cases in every single local authority.
Harrow East Tory MP Bob Blackman also told the Standard: “A tiered approach is better than waiting for the worst affected region.”
Locally, Greenwich has the highest case rate in south east London at 209.8 cases per 100,000, down from 320.6 last week.
In Bexley, the rate is 180.4 (448 new cases this week), down from 305.3.
Lewisham has recorded 178.9 (547 cases), down from 320.1.
And in Bromley, the case rate is just 164.3 (546 cases), which is down from 278.3.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed late last month that schools will not open until at least March 8, instead of straight after the February half-term.
The picture for society more generally remains unclear, although it is suspected the Tier system will return.
He told a Downing Street news conference: "The date of 8 March is the earliest that we think it is sensible to set for schools to go back and obviously we hope that all schools will go back.
"I'm hopeful, but that's the earliest that we can do it and it depends on lots of things going right, and... it also depends on us all now continuing to work together to drive down the incidence of the disease through the basic methods we've used throughout this pandemic," he added.
There was not enough data yet to decide when to end the lockdown, he said, but intended to set out a plan for how it could be eased - and the criteria involved - in the final week of February
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