Boris Johnson this afternoon urged Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, to reconsider his opposition to Tier 3 restrictions and the financial package the Government has put in place.
Pointedly thanking "Steve Rotheram in Merseyside, Sadiq Khan in London and local leaders in Lancashire who have worked constructively with us" (even though Steve Rotheram begs to differ), Johnson said that if Greater Manchester doesn't agree he will intervene "in order to protect Manchester's hospitals and to save the lives of Manchester's residents".
The full text of the Prime Minister's speech in reference to Greater Manchester reads...
"Now, we have not yet reached an agreement with Greater Manchester. I completely understand the reluctance of the Mayor and his colleagues to take Manchester into the Very High alert level. It is far from a pain-free course of action and it will mean a difficult time for the people of that great part of the country – on top of the restrictions they have already had to endure since the summer.
"But I must stress, the situation in Greater Manchester is grave, and it worsens with each passing day. Cases doubled in the last 9 days. High infection rates are creeping up the age range: while cases are 690 per 100,000 for 16-29 year olds, they have now risen to 224 per 100,000 for the over-60s.
"The number of COVID in-patients in Manchester's ICU beds is already over 40% of the number at the height of the first wave. That number will inevitably rise further, given that hospitalisation occurs 2-3 weeks after infection. On present trends, in just over 2 weeks there will be more Covid patients in intensive care than at the peak of the first wave.
"So I urge the Mayor to reconsider and engage constructively. I cannot stress enough – time is of the essence. Each day that passes before action is taken means more people will go to hospital, more people will end up in intensive care, and tragically more people will die.
"Of course if agreement cannot be reached, I will need to intervene in order to protect Manchester's hospitals and to save the lives of Manchester's residents. But our efforts will be so much more effective if we work together.
"Some have argued that we should introduce a national lockdown instead of targeted local action and I disagree. Closing businesses in Cornwall, where transmission is low, will not cut transmission in Manchester. So while I cannot rule anything out, if at all possible I want to avoid another national lockdown, with the damaging health, economic and social effects it would have..."
Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, hit back on Twitter, referring to the Chief Medical Officer, Patrick Vallance, who said that he wanted a circuit breaker last month and thinks Tier 3 restrictions won't be enough to get rates down...
"So that's the Chief Scientific Adviser joining the Chief Medical Officer and his two deputies in casting doubt on whether Tier 3 will work" Burnham tweeted "And yet I'm the one putting health at risk?"
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