After receiving reports that about 40 people were in attendance at a demonstration in St Peter’s Square at around noon yesterday, police arrived at the scene to find that the demonstrators had gathered “in contravention of current lockdown legislation” as all public gatherings are banned under coronavirus (COVID-19) rules.
Greater Manchester Police said that most demonstrators dispersed after officers asked them to leave.
In a statement issued yesterday afternoon, GMP confirmed that the organiser of the protest – a 61-year-old NHS mental health worker and UNISON rep, who has now been named as Hulme resident, Karen Reissmann – had been issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) of the maximum £10,000.
Ms Reissmann insisted that the demonstration was “socially-distanced and risk assessed”.
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Police are telling people to disperse from a gathering in St Peter's Square in Manchester. Healthcare workers are unhappy about the government's 1% pay rise for NHS staff. The protest has been deemed illegal. #HeartNewspic.twitter.com/nECmUAk1Sl
A number of cones laid out to ensure a two-metres distance between all participants, and each demonstrator in attendance wore a face covering, however Greater Manchester Police officers soon told Karen that the gathering was illegal and the event could not go ahead.
Speaking on a microphone at the demonstration – which is believed to have lasted around 10 minutes – Karen told those assembled that she disagreed with the decision, but had no choice but to comply.
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Karen told the MEN following the incident that she was “really shocked’ by the decision to give her a £10,000 fine and that she will be be contesting it.
“I’m contesting it partly because I think it’s unfair,” said Karen.
“I’ve had lots of offers of legal advice and I will speak to our Union reps and look at my options.”
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Police detain an NHS worker after breaking up a protest in Manchester, over the proposed 1% pay rise for NHS workers from the Government.
But today, Assistant Chief Constable Nick Bailey stood by the decision and said that while all fines are subject to a review once submitted, he believes the £10,000 fine “appears to be appropriate in the circumstances”, adding: “The current lockdown situation is really difficult for everyone and we do understand how much of an impact the restrictions have on people’s ability to undertake any activity other than exercise.
“Since the current national restrictions were introduced this year, as with the second lockdown last year, protests are now no longer exempt as a reason to gather and are therefore unlawful, which is different to the position for much of last year, when a number of protests did occur in Greater Manchester.
“We try to balance our interventions and will always engage with the participants and organisers of a protest using the three Es of engagement, explaining and encouraging, before taking any enforcement activity.
“Our primary aim has always been to seek out and engage with the organisers to protest in an alternative and lawful manner, thereby negating the need for police action.
“Throughout the whole pandemic Greater Manchester Police has worked with colleagues in the NHS and across Greater Manchester to support the efforts to stop the spread of COVID, protect our communities and our health service.
New endometriosis pill helping hundreds of women with ‘debilitating’ condition to be made available on NHS
Emily Sergeant
A groundbreaking new pill to help women with a ‘debilitating’ condition is set to be made available on the NHS.
The new daily pill for endometriosis – which has been approved for use on the NHS in England by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) – is called linzagolix, and will be available for those who have had previous treatment for endometriosis, working to manage any symptoms they may be experiencing.
Around 1.5 million women in the UK are thought to be currently living with endometriosis.
Endometriosis can cause chronic pain, heavy periods, and extreme tiredness when tissue similar to the womb lining grows elsewhere in the body.
A new daily pill for endometriosis has been approved for use on the NHS, and could help over a thousand women in England every year manage the symptoms of the debilitating condition.
As mentioned, linzagolix will be available specifically for patients whose previous medical or surgical treatments for endometriosis have been unsuccessful, and will be given alongside ‘add-back’ hormone therapy – which involves using low-dose hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to prevent menopause-like symptoms and bone loss.
This is the second take-at-home treatment to be approved to treat endometriosis on the NHS, and it’s thought that more than 1,000 women will benefit.
In clinical trials, linzagolix was shown to be successful in reducing painful periods and non-menstrual pelvic pain, compared with placebo, hence why it has been approved on the NHS by NICE.
“This is welcome news for women with endometriosis who haven’t found relief from previous therapies or surgery,” commented Dr Sue Mann, who is the National Clinical Director in Women’s Health for NHS England.
“It’s another treatment option which will help women take control of their health and better manage the symptoms of this often painful and debilitating condition.
“This is a testament to our ongoing commitment to improving treatment, care and quality of life for women.”
Featured Image – Heute
News
Wigan woman jailed after hitting pedestrian in Fiat 500 while driving high on nitrous oxide ‘balloons’
Emily Sergeant
A young woman from Wigan has been handed jail time after hitting a pedestrian while driving high on nitrous oxide.
Louisa Tunstall was driving a white Fiat 500 towards the East Lancashire Road in Wigan at around 7pm on Friday 24 May 2024 – a time when traffic conditions were said to be ‘quiet’ – but Tunstall was under the influence of a now-banned drug, nitrous oxide, at the time of the incident, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed.
While driving under the influence, 19-year-old Tunstall veered to the left onto the pavement and collided with a 51-year-old woman pedestrian.
After striking the woman, the car then overturned and, in the process, caused serious life-changing injuries.
When questioned by police, Tunstall stated that she ‘took her eyes off the road’ to retrieve something in the footwell before knowing the car had flipped, but she also confirmed that she had just been out to purchase nitrous oxide to use that evening.
After obtaining witness accounts, investigating officers were able to track down nearby CCTV footable which showed Tunstall inhaling nitrous oxide through a balloon whilst driving, seconds before the collision occurred.
#JAILED | It's not a laughing matter when you get behind the wheel under the influence of drugs.
Now Louisa Tunstall has to spend over a year behind bars after inhaling nitrous oxide and causing serious injury in #Wigan last year.
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) May 14, 2025
Further investigation by GMP’s Forensic Vehicle Examination Unit examined the Fiat 500 and confirmed that no defects were found on the car to contribute towards the collision.
Still to this day, the victim says she is trying to recover from the injuries sustained to her leg that will prevent her from continuing life as she did before.
“The incident is still very raw when I think about it,” the victim explained in her impact statement released by GMP. “I become upset when I think at everything which has been taken away from me and the ongoing affect it has had and continues to have on my daily life.”
GMP says it’s seeing the use of nitrous oxide being a factor in incidents they attend increasing year on year.
Nitrous oxide, also known as ‘laughing gas’, is reported to produce euphoria, relaxation, dizziness, giggling or laughing fits, impaired judgement, and occasionally dissociation and hallucinations – which GMP says affects reaction time and and is ‘likely lead to impairment’ in driving performance, particularly when faced with an unexpected or hazardous situation.
Tunstall appeared at Bolton Crown Court this week, and has been sentenced to one year and eight months imprisonment for having possession of a Class C drug, driving under the influence of drugs, and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Alongside being jailed, she was also disqualified from driving for two years and eight months, and has been ordered to take an extended test when she is released.
The Manc -
8th March 2021 
