Boris Johnson piles the pressure on Andy Burnham

In a press conference this afternoon, Boris Johnson stepped up his war of words with Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, after the government failed to reach an agreement with the region about moving into Tier 3 coronavirus restrictions again today.

The Prime Minister first singled out for praise the Liverpool mayor Steve Rotheram, London Mayor Sadiq Khan and local leaders in Lancashire, for ‘working constructively’ with the government and entering into Tier 3 restrictions this week. In contrast, he said the government has not yet managed to reach an agreement with Greater Manchester.

The Prime Minister then stressed the ‘grave’ situation in the area, with cases doubling every nine days, infection rates rising up the age range, and the number of Covid patients in Manchester ICU beds at 40 per cent of the number during the first wave. The PM said that on present trends, in just over two weeks, there would be the same number of patients in Manchester’s ICUs as during the first wave.