News
Manchester pub owner ‘bars’ Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford from his venues
He's also banned members of Sage, ITV's political editor and an infectious disease expert
A Manchester pub owner has ‘barred’ Scottish and Welsh First Ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford from his venues – despite having no pubs in Scotland and only a handful in Wales.
JW Lees Managing Director William Lees-Jones, who runs a chain of pubs mostly spread across the north west, has kicked out at the leaders of the devolved nations over restrictions introduced in both Scotland and Wales to stop the spread of Covid-19.
The pub chain owner tweeted that he would be banning both leaders as a ‘Christmas gift to the UK this year’, in a tongue-in-cheek post shared to social media.
He also threw in a host of other notable figures, tweeting a ‘banned’ list that also included members of the government’s Sage advisory committee, infectious disease expert Neil Ferguson. and ITV’s lead political journalist, Robert Peston.
He tweeted: “The @JWLeesBrewery Christmas gift to the UK this year is that we’re barring the following from all of our pubs – @NicolaSturgeon @MarkDrakeford @SusanMichie @Zubhaque @Peston @neil_ferguson.”
The tweet was accompanied by a gif of a man being removed from a pub by force and thrown into the gutter.
The Christmas holiday period is a key time for hospitality, with many businesses making the bulk of their profits for the year during this period.
In recent days, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland have all brought in new measures to stop the spread of Covid-19 – meaning that England is the only country in the UK likely to have clubs open on New Year’s Eve this year.
In Scotland, nightclubs have been closed and bars and restaurants have reintroduced social distancing and table service measures.
Over in Wales, meanwhile, the rule of six is in play once again from Boxing Day in pubs, cinemas and restaurants and social distancing rules have now been reintroduced.
Read more: New Year’s Eve in England will go ahead with no restrictions, it’s confirmed
And in Northern Ireland, new restrictions have also been introduced with dancing now banned and table service returning to hospitality venues. Wales has also been under strict restrictions, as cases continue to rise due to the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant.
England, however, remains under the same restrictions as it was before Christmas – with the Prime Minister confirming yesterday that he would not be introducing any new measures ahead of New Year’s Eve.
The Health Secretary, however, has advised people in England to remain ‘cautious’ and to celebrate outside ‘where possible.’
Feature image – Geograph / Wikimedia Commons
News
Beloved Manchester artist Stanley Chow slams Conservative Party for using his artwork
Daisy Jackson
Celebrated local artist Stanley Chow has lashed out at the Conservative Party.
The illustrator, who is famed for his cartoon portraits of famous faces, has discovered that the political party have been using his Andy Burnham illustration at their party conference.
Publicly addressing the usage, Stanley said he would be ‘seeking legal advice’.
He shared a photo of his Andy Burnham portrait that has been placed onto a water bottle with the slogan ‘Bottler Burnham’.
The label also says: “0% strength. Bottled under pressure from Badenoch.”
In another photo, Stanley Chow revealed that the Tory party conference has used his Andy Burnham portrait on pots of sweets, too.
This time, they say: “Andy Panders’ people pleaser pick n mix. Free sweets for everyone, it will only cost you higher taxes.”
Stanley wrote: “It seems like @conservatives have been using my artwork without my permission at their conference party…
“Regardless of whatever your political allegiances are, it’s still copyright infringement… I’ll be seeking legal advice.”
Backing him up in the comments are a number of other local artists, including Mancsy, who said: “As well as the copyright infringement, I expect more of political parties than making gags at the expense of the opposition. It’s alarming on multiple levels.”
Someone else wrote: “Imagine calling a prime minister a people pleaser like it’s an insult… when it’s their job.”
Another person said: “How does that even happen?! Layers of people signing off who go, ‘Sure, let’s not worry about copyright’ (people who’ve presumably never step foot in MCR and seen your artwork, like EVERYWHERE). Drag em, babe. Copyright and reputation, surely.”
Read more
Featured image: The Manc Group
News
Manchester man jailed after sexually assaulting and masturbating in front of woman on train
Emily Sergeant
A man has been jailed after sexually assaulting and masturbating in front of a woman on board a train to Manchester.
Following an extensive British Transport Police (BTP) investigation, Nisan Fernando Kurukulasuriya, of Troutbeck Road in Altrincham, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court last month.
At the trail last month, the court heard how, on Monday 20 April 2026, 39-year-old Kurukulasuriya was on a train from Stoke to Manchester and sat next to a woman he didn’t know, who was on the phone.
He then sexually assaulted her repeatedly, doing so again even after being pushed away by the woman.
The woman then noticed that Kurukulasuriya had exposed himself and was masturbating in front of her. She shouted at him, and in response, he stood up and ran away to leave the train – but the woman immediately got up to report the incident to staff.
When the train arrived at Manchester Piccadilly, the woman alerted a member of staff while Kurukulasuriya was stood only a few meters away, and BTP were subsequently called straight away.
Police quickly attended and arrested Kurukulasuriya.
When police interviewed him, Kurukulasuriya showed no remorse for his actions and refused to answer any questions put to him.
After pleading guilty to Sexual Assault and Outraging Public Decency at a previous court hearing, Kurukulasuriya was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment, and was also handed a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) which will bar him from sitting next to any woman he doesn’t know on public transport, as well as being put on thensex offenders register for 10 years.
Read more:
BTP Detective Sergeant, Mark Haviland, called Kurukulasuriya a ‘despicable man’ who targeted a woman travelling alone ‘for his own sick sexual gratification’.
Featured Image – BTP
Georgina Pellant -
28th December 2021 
