The organiser of Manchester city centre-based protest over the proposed 1% pay rise for NHS workers has been handed a £10,000 fine by police.
After receiving reports that about 40 people were in attendance at a demonstration in St Peter’s Square at around noon yesterday, officers from Greater Manchester Police arrived at the scene to find that the demonstrators had gathered “in contravention of current lockdown legislation”.
Public gatherings are banned under coronavirus (COVID-19) rules, and police said 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 woman who works for the NHS – has now been fined the maximum £10,000, with another NHS worker, aged 65, also arrested for failing to provide details after initially refusing to leave.
The force then said the latter was de-arrested and fined £200 after complying.
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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.
A 61-year-old woman has been issued with a £10,000 fine for organising a protest in Manchester against the proposed 1% pay rise for nurses and other NHS staff members.
Speaking on the demonstration, Superintendent Caroline Hemingway said: “With the positive step of schools reopening tomorrow, it is vital that people continue to follow Government legislation on social distancing and avoid gathering illegally in large numbers.
“Regardless of one’s sympathies for a protest’s cause, we would ask the public to maintain social distancing and follow legislation to prevent a rise in infections and provide the best possible chance of a further easing of restrictions in the weeks to come.
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“We sought to engage with and peaceably disperse those attending this afternoon’s protest, explaining that the gathering was in contravention of government lockdown rules.
“Unfortunately officers were met with a degree of non-compliance and it was therefore necessary to enforce issue FPNs.”
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
The aforementioned arrests and incidents of fining that occurred at Sunday’s demonstration have since gone on to receive backlash and criticism from members of the public, who have taken to social media to express their thoughts.
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An opinion poll – published in The Observer newspaper – also found that more than 70% of people (72%) think the pay rise on offer is too low, while a fifth (20%) think it is right.
Yesterday’s demonstration comes as the government faces ongoing backlash after giving evidence on Thursday to the NHS pay-review body – which looks at nearly 1.5 million people, including nurses and health assistants, but not doctors, dentists and some senior staff, who have their own pay bodies or agreements – and suggesting a 1% pay rise for 2021-22, by citing the “uncertain” financial situation.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) – which has called for a 12.5% pay increase for nurses – said that a 1% pay rise would only amount to an extra £3.50 a week in take home pay for an experienced nurse.
The RCN Council set up its £35 million strike fund on Friday in order to have the finances available to its members should they wish to take action.
“In setting up this fund, the RCN will create the UK’s largest union strike fund overnight,” said a statement.
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Nursing staff are burnt out, exhausted and considering leaving the career they love. A 1% pay award will drive them to the door. They deserve a significant pay rise. Support our campaign #FairPayForNursinghttps://t.co/5dKJz8I4qd
Dame Donna Kinnair – Chief Executive and General Secretary at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) – has condemned health minster Nadine Dorries’ claim that 1% was “the most” the government could afford, and called the offer “pitiful and bitterly disappointing”.
UNISON – the second largest worker’s union in the UK – is also urging people to stand on doorsteps and balconies for a “slow hand clap protest” on Thursday 11 March at 8pm to show how they feel about the pay offer.
Following the mounting backlash, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has defended the proposed 1% NHS pay rise – branded a “slap in the face” by the RCN” – during a visit to a vaccination centre in North London yesterday, stating: “What we have done is try to give them as much as we can at the present time.
“The independent pay review body will obviously look at what we’ve proposed and come back [and] don’t forget that there has been a public sector pay freeze, we’re in pretty tough times.”
The pay-review body will take evidence from other groups before making its recommendation around May.
News
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 
