It has been confirmed today that Greater Manchester will be placed into Tier 4 restrictions following the second official review of the UK government’s tier system.
The new classification was announced by Health Secretary Matt Hancock during a direct address to MPs in the House of Commons a few moments ago.
These changes will take effect at 0.01am tomorrow.
Announcing the new classifications, Mr Hancock said: “Unfortunately, this new variant is now spreading across most of England and cases are doubling fast [and] it is therefore necessary to apply Tier 4 measures to a wider area, including the remaining parts of the South East, as well as large parts of the Midlands, the North West, the North East and the South West.”
Lancashire, Cheshire, Warrington, Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen will also move from Tier 3 restrictions into Tier 4.
Liverpool City Region will move from Tier 2 restrictions into Tier 3, while Cumbria will from Tier 2 into Tier 4.
BREAKING: Health Secretary Matt Hancock says that three quarters of the population of England are now going to be in Tier 4 due to the spread of the second COVID variant.
It comes after coronavirus (COVID-19) infection rates have continued to rise across the region – with nine out of the ten boroughs seeing increases – and the latest data now showing the region-wide infection rate looking set to top 200 cases per 100,000 people again for the first time since last month.
Greater Manchester had previously remained under Tier 3 restrictions since the country came out of the national second lockdown at the start of December, with no changes in almost four weeks.
Tier 4
The new tier 4 restrictions will see Greater Manchester residents told to “stay at home” and not leave or be outside of their home except for specific purposes.
No household mixing is allowed – aside from support bubbles and two people meeting in public outdoor spaces – all hospitality and non-essential retail must close, except for takeaway, drive-through or delivery services, and all indoor leisure and entertainment venues must too close.
Travel is only permitted for work, education or other legally permitted reasons, and residents must not leave a Tier 4 area or stay overnight away from home.
Residents in Tiers 1 – 3 should also not enter Tier 4 areas.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson is now due to make a follow-up announcement regarding the return to school ahead of the new term for millions of children across the country at 3:30pm.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced millions more people are facing tighter Covid-19 restrictions as the Government extends Tier 4 rules to cover more areas in England
The review follows widespread reports by a number of major news outlets that have been emerging over the past week or so to suggest that England could immediately head into a full lockdown, or even see additional ‘Tier 5’ restrictions imposed following the confirmation by Health Secretary Matt Hancock earlier this month that a “new variant” of coronavirus has been detected in the UK, which first forced London and large parts of the South East into Tier 4 “stay at home” measures over the festive period.
It also comes after millions more people were then moved into tougher restrictions on Boxing Day, with some six million people entering Tier 4, and a further four million people placed into Tier 3.
This thus brought the total of people in Tier 4 to 24 million, which was 43% of the population.
The approval of the new vaccine is set to accelerate UK’s immunisation campaign – with 100 million doses of the Oxford jab already ordered – and is has prompted Matt Hancock to express confidence the country could now “get out of the pandemic by spring”.
Two shots will be required for maximum effect, and the rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is scheduled for 4th January.
This is a BREAKING NEWS story – More to follow.
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For the latest information, guidance and support during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the UK, please do refer to official sources at gov.uk/coronavirus.
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Smoke billows across Manchester city centre as historic mill goes up in flames
Daisy Jackson
Smoke is billowing across the Manchester skyline this evening after a huge fire has struck the historic Hotspur Press building.
The former mill just off Whitworth Street West has gone up in flames, with smoke seen for miles.
People have been sharing pictures and videos of the blaze from all over the city centre.
The Hotspur Press stands just below the train lines between Manchester Oxford Road and Deansgate train station, meaning that the fire has caused significant travel disruption.
BREAKING 🚨 Huge fire in Manchester city centre right now – historic Hotspur Press is ablaze with major disruption to trains out of Oxford Road #manchester#mcrpic.twitter.com/SnA52oiqxm
Trains out of Manchester Oxford Road are currently all showing as delayed.
The building was set to be redeveloped into a student accommodation tower block, with a recent planning application requesting to change the original consented brick cladding to an aluminium façade. A large emergency services response is on the scene.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) told The Manc: “Firefighters are currently tackling a large fire at the derelict Hotspur Press building on Cambridge Street in Manchester. An evacuation of the neighbouring apartment buildings is taking place.
“The public are advised to stay away from the area while crews continue to tackle the fire.”
A further update from the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service at around 7pm said: “Crews are working hard to tackle the fire at the Hotspur Press building. 20 fire engines from stations across Greater Manchester are at the scene, where three floors of the building are alight. Multiple jets and the air unit are in use to prevent the spread of the fire.
“All floors of the two apartment blocks at 1 Cambridge Street have been evacuated.”
National Rail has said: “There is a fire next to the track at Manchester Oxford Road, closing all lines at this station. As a result, trains may be cancelled, severely delayed by up to 100 minutes or revised.
“If you are travelling this evening, your train may not run its full route and may terminate / start from a different station.
“Please check before you travel as major disruption is expected to continue until the end of the day.”
As the police cordon has expanded, local businesses have been impacted – Bunny Jackson’s on First Street has been evacuated and is closed.
They shared: “We have had to evacuate due to a fire near by! We’re unsure of when we will be able to reopen. Safety first, folks!”
Plumes can be seen for miles, with residents in Salford, Hyde, Bolton, and further afield reporting sightings, including some even in Cheshire – fair to say it’s one of, if not the largest, fire in Manchester city centre for some time.
Witnesses have said that crowds are now being cleared from the area due to a risk of asbestos.
A witness at the scene told The Manc that a police officer wearing a mask was urging bystanders to exit the vicinity immediately, stating that “smoke is asbestos-contaminated because of the roof.”
If nearby, please keep away and urge others to stay safe.
Nearby apartments and buildings are being evacuated, and trains have been hit with heavy disruption due to Oxford Road station being in such close proximity.#GreaterManchesterpic.twitter.com/0mkxEJAj98
Government launches ‘urgent’ review into NHS maternity and neonatal care services
Emily Sergeant
A rapid national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services has been ordered by the Government.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting says this Government inherited a situation from the previous government where issues in maternity and neonatal care had been ‘ongoing for some time’, and now he wants to ‘provide truth and accountability’ to address systemic problems that date back more than 15 years.
Although a series of independent reviews into local trusts in the past had found some similar ‘failings’, including the failure to listen to women, concerns over safety, and issues with leadership and culture, this new national investigation will be going further than ever before.
The investigation will urgently look at the worst-performing maternity and neonatal services in the country, and bring together the findings of past reviews into one clear national set of actions.
The aim is to ensure every woman and baby receives high-quality and compassionate care, with the investigation consisting of two parts.
📢 National maternity and neonatal investigation to be launched
Too many families have suffered preventable harm.
The investigation will urgently look at services with specific issues and the entire maternity system, making sure each family receives safe and compassionate care. pic.twitter.com/J8XkwGM9dN
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) June 23, 2025
The first part will urgently investigate up to 10 of the ‘most concerning’ maternity and neonatal units across the country to give affected families the answers they deserve as quickly as possible.
The second will then undertake a system-wide look at maternity and neonatal care to bring together lessons from past inquiries to create one clear national set of actions to improve care across every NHS maternity service.
Alongside the launch of the national investigation today, the Government has also announced that it will be establishing a ‘National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce’ that’s set to be chaired by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and made up of a panel of esteemed experts and bereaved families.
The taskforce will mainly address several issues facing maternity care in England.
One area of focus will be addressing the devastating inequalities that women from Black, Asian and deprived backgrounds face, while another area will be a look at a lack of compassionate care and concerns over safety.
The Government has launched an ‘urgent’ review into NHS maternity and neonatal care services / Credit: Jimmy Conover (via Unsplash)
“I know nobody wants better for women and babies than the thousands of NHS midwives, obstetricians, maternity and neonatal staff,” commented Health Secretary Wes Streeting, as the urgent review was launched today. “And that the vast majority of births are safe and without incident, but it’s clear something is going wrong.
“That’s why I’ve ordered a rapid national investigation to make sure families get the truth and the accountability they deserve, and ensure no parent or baby is ever let down again.
“I want staff to come with us on this, to improve things for everyone.
“We‘re also taking immediate steps to hold failing services to account and give staff the tools they need to deliver the kind, safe, respectful care every family deserves.
“Maternity care should be the litmus test by which this Government is judged on patient safety, and I will do everything in my power to ensure no family has to suffer like this again.”
The Manc -
30th December 2020 
