Johnson ‘will need to intervene’ in Greater Manchester if no Covid agreement

Another one and a half million people in England will be living under the strictest coronavirus restrictions from tomorrow, as the whole of Lancashire is moved into tier 3.

Boris Johnson said accepting the tougher measures was the “right and responsible” thing to do. And he warned the situation in Greater Manchester was worsening “with every passing day” and threatened to intervene if local political leaders didn’t agree to the new restrictions.

Across the UK, there have been another 15,650 cases in the last 24 hours, while a further 136 deaths have been reported which takes the total to 43,429. And the number of people in hospital has risen sharply since last week.