Two nurses have won compensation after being fined £10,000 during a socially-distanced NHS pay protest during lockdown.
Karen Reissmann – a 61-year-old frontline NHS nurse, who worked throughout the pandemic – organised a socially-distanced demonstration outside in St Peter’s Square in Manchester city centre on 7 March 2021 to protest against the government’s proposed 1% pay rise for NHS workers.
Even though only around 40 people were expected to attend, Ms Reissmann was informed by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers that the protest was not permitted under the COVID-19 regulations and could not go ahead.
She was then fined £10,000 for organising the protest, and was cautioned by a police officer.
Ms Gallagher, also an NHS frontline nurse who was 65 years old at the time, was arrested by the police, and later de-arrested and fined £200 for contravening the COVID-19 regulations.
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Faced with having to pay the fines and report themselves to their professional body, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the nurses then decided to instruct lawyers, Bindmans LLP, to challenge their fines.
Latest news: NHS nurses win compensation claim against Greater Manchester Police following £10,000 #Covid19 fine
Initially, Greater Manchester Police defended the £10,000 fine as “proportionate, legal, accountable and necessary in the circumstances” – but now, after legal proceedings were brought against the force, it has agreed to settle the nurses’ claims for compensation, and has also accepted that Ms Gallagher’s arrest had been unlawful, and the fines were unlawfully imposed, subsequently agreeing to withdraw them.
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The police conceded that they had “misunderstood the effects” of the COVID-19 regulations.
“The force however refused to apologise to Ms Reissmann for the distress caused to her by the £10,000 fine, or for the professional embarrassment the criminal sanction caused her,” Bindmans LLP did however say in a statement on the case.
“The police have also refused to make a fulsome apology to Ms Gallagher for her arrest and the impact that this had on her.”
Two nurses have won compensation after being fined £10,000 during a socially-distanced NHS pay protest during lockdown / Credit: Bindmans LLP
Commenting on the compensation claim win, Ms Reissmann said: “In March 2021, the NHS had 100,000 unfilled vacancies [and] when the government offered a 1% pay rise to traumatised and exhausted health workers after a year of battling the pandemic, we knew this situation would only get worse – we needed to protest to protect the NHS.
“I received a fine 200 times the amount of the fine Boris Johnson has received. Why, when the protest I organised was lawful and intended to improve the world, not party in a flagrant abuse of the rules?”
She added: “The NHS now has 110,000 unfilled vacancies.
“Over a hundred thousand people died in the UK from COVID-19 [and] millions are on NHS waiting lists – the Prime Minister should be resigning over this, as well as his parties.”
Middleton to receive a cinema and Metrolink as part of regeneration plans
Thomas Melia
Greater Manchester town Middleton is about to undergo a huge facelift thanks to a new regeneration project, including a new cinema and Metrolink tram station.
Middleton is one of many bustling communities that make up the borough of Rochdale, and with these new plans, the town might receive a fair few new visitors who want to know what it’s all about.
The Greater Manchester town is undergoing a huge transformation with regeneration plans confirming that Middleton will receive a brand new cinema complex along with an extended Metrolink line as part of the Bee Network expansion covering this area.
This is all thanks to Middleton teaming up with the Mayor to launch the Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC), which pushes forward regeneration plans for the town and future ideas.
Middleton Shopping Centre right in the heart of the town centre.Middleton Town Centre bustling as the markets take place.Credit: Steven Haslington (via Geograph)/@Rept0n1x (via Flickr)
The MDC considers lots of aspects of the town and even aims to create new homes and improve surrounding public spaces.
Middleton regeneration plans have been floated previously, but complications arose due to a lack of land and available funding, which ultimately brought these foundations to a halt.
Now it seems the green light has been lifted and Middleton is about to get a whole new facelift, which will not only improve the town economically but aesthetically too, along with the wider Rochdale region.
For many Middletonians, the idea of a cinema may have felt like a distant memory, with their last big screen location shutting down just over a decade ago.
This all-new high street regeneration will not only bring an array of shopping favourites back to the town centre but also the long-awaited return of a local cinema. Most importantly, the plans also include a slate of new housing, with an estimated 300 apartments set to be created in one building alone.
Early CGIs of the proposed Middleton regeneration plans.Grade II-listed Warwick Mill looks set to be turned into flats.Credit: Publicity Picture (supplied)
This all falls in line with the ‘Atom Valley scheme‘, which has been commissioned in order to generate over 20,000 job opportunities for people in Bury, Oldham and Rochdale.
The scheme also mentions how it aims to bring a combined economic boost of around £1 billion to these previously mentioned areas.
Rochdale Borough Council leader, Neil Emmott, said: “The development of 1.2 million square metres of employment space around the junction 19 area will help to generate 20,000 high-quality jobs and bring a £1 billion economic boost.”
Featured Image — Publicity Pictures (supplied via Rochdale Borough Council)
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Scouting For Girls announce stacked UK tour with Manchester date
Thomas Melia
British boyband Scouting For Girls are heading out on an extensive UK tour with dates up and down the country, including right here in Manchester.
If the first thing that pops into your mind when you read this headline is “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know how we’ll make it through this”, then you’re on the right side of history.
Nearly 20 years since their single ‘She’s So Lovely’ reached catastrophic heights and had everyone putting on their best Roy Stride accent, Scouting For Girls are heading back on the road.
This UK tour announcement comes two years after their last project, The Place We Used To Meet, reached our ears and was coined by the band as “Our best work since our debut”.
It’s been 18 years since this Brit trio captivated our hearts with their eponymous debut album, which sold over one million copies and went number one on the UK official charts for two weeks.
Whether you know them for ‘Heartbeat’ or ‘Elvis Ain’t Dead’, it’s clear to say this band had their fair share of smash hit singles throughout the noughties.
This tour, however, celebrates the sophomore follow-up: Everybody Wants To Be On TV, which went on to continue their legacy and secure them their only number one, ‘This Ain’t A Love Song’, back in 2010.
Now, the boys are treating UK fans to an array of live performances, and if you can’t make one date, fear not because there are 20 different locations for you to choose from.
The group will also be playing the likes of Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle and a whole host of other Northern cities, so you have plenty of chances to catch them.
If you can’t wait all the way until March 2026 for your next Scouting For Girls fix, lead singer Stride has his own cameo account where you can get the star to read out a message or even sing you a song: “‘Michaela Strachan’ in full, please?…”
Scouting For Girls are coming to O2 Apollo in Manchester on 21 March 2026, with tickets going on sale next Friday, 2 May at 10am HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
27th May 2022 
