Manchester mayor Andy Burnham threatens to sue Boris Johnson
Andy Burnham has vowed to take legal action against Boris Johnson as PM prepares to put manchester
and Lancashire into Tier Three lockdown
Manchester and Lancashire could be put under Tier 3 lockdown after the Government’s ‘Gold command’
taskforce scientists signed off on the harsh measures.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to review the proposals today and, if he also agrees,
the areas would be plunged into the harshest lockdown in the Government’s three-tier system –
so far only imposed on Liverpool.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock is due to update the House of Commons on Thursday morning at
around 11.30 am.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and its local council leaders earlier threatened legal action
if the city is plunged into the ‘fundamentally flawed’ highest level of local restrictions without more
financial help.
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He said he would ‘not cave into the pressure’ by agreeing to a local lockdown and said the extreme restrictions
would be ‘by imposition, not consent’.
He and other local leaders fear a winter where large parts of the North are trapped in Tier 3′ without
financial support for businesses or for those unable to work.
The measures come despite Manchester’s Covid-19 infection rate appearing to slow down.
This week saw 448 cases per 100,000 – compared to 582 per 100,000 the week prior, Manchester Evening News reports.
In response to the announcement of the Joint Biosecurity Centre’s ‘Gold Command’ decision,
Mr Burnham Tweeted: ‘Said I wasn’t going to comment but now feel compelled to do so on the back
of this Government briefing.
‘At no point during tonight’s briefing was this news communicated to us. Media told first once again.
Our position has not changed.’
Lancashire yesterday reported a further 835 cases in one day. Some 87 of them were in Blackpool where a
a rare glimpse inside an NHS hospital this week revealed medics are bracing to re-live their COVID-19
frontline roles ‘all over again for an indefinite period of time’ as intensive care wards fill up.
Lancashire county council leader Geoff Driver yesterday said it is ‘inevitable’ his region would enter Tier 3.
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