A video has emerged on social media of a police officer apparently seen punching a worker outside a cafe where dozens of people were said to be dining.
The incident was confirmed to have taken place at the Kate & Luc Cafe Restaurant in Burnage yesterday.
The cafe was allegedly operating in breach of the rules of England’s third national lockdown, which permits hospitality businesses to provide collection / takeaway and delivery services, but does not allow patrons to sit inside the premises.
As well as the initial video footage which appears to show the assault taking place – posted by Twitter user @88gaz88, and amassing over 4K interactions and comments – a second video from the scene shows the staff member being led outside by Greater Manchester Police officers, with customers jeering and clapping.
Many of those same customers then followed the scene outside.
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Throughout both of the clips posted to Twitter, people can be heard shouting at the officers “He’s trying to earn a living”, “You will pay for this”, and “You will get what you deserve, have you got children?”.
Guys I am not after numbers or followings! This has just happened five minutes ago!! Greater Manchester Police have assaulted a man at the cafe in burnage. 4 seconds of your time and please share the absolute hell out of this!! @gmpolice you should be ashamed of yourselves pic.twitter.com/hIFxrbGuyn
The owners of the cafe have posted regularly on their Facebook page about remaining open, despite the current lockdown rules, and a further video released from the scene – which looks to have been filmed inside the cafe – shows children among the crowd of people sitting at tables, the majority of whom appear to not be social distancing or wearing masks.
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An eyewitness present at the scene provided an insight into the context of the incident, stating that: “[The cafe] has been open for takeaways, but recently we’ve seen people sitting inside [and] today there were about 50 or 60 people inside and outside.
“No-one was wearing a mask [and] it was like they were protesting [against the lockdown].
Greater Manchester Police confirmed it is “aware of the footage” from the incident circulating online and are “continuing to assess the circumstances of the incident”.
A police spokesperson said: “Police were responding to reports of non-compliance with COVID-19 restrictions by a café on Burnage Lane in Manchester,”
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“Officers attended and in line with procedure, attempted to engage with individuals and disperse attendees.
“This resulted in an officer being assaulted.
“GMP are aware of the footage circulating online and are continuing to assess all the circumstances of the incident, including this footage as well as other footage obtained, at what remains an early stage in the investigation.”
GMP is aware of a video circulating online involving a man who appears to be struck by a police officer.
This incident happened whilst a 38-year-old man was being arrested on suspicion of assault of an emergency worker and resisting arrest. pic.twitter.com/nI9MZa5UET
The force also confirmed that one of their officers sustained injuries during the altercation – which took place shortly after 12pm yesterday – but did not require hospital treatment.
Officers issued a total of 14 fixed penalty notices.
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Full list of road closures set to be in place for Manchester Day 2024
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Day is back for 2024 this weekend, and the full list of road closures set to be in place has been confirmed.
Now that schools are officially out across Greater Manchester, and the summer holidays are well and truly here, the hugely-popular Manchester Day is making a return once again this Saturday 27 July, and as always, it’s set to be “the day summer officially starts” in the city centre – with a massive celebration of “all things Mancunian” on the cards.
The theme of this year’s annual event is ‘Let The Games Begin’, and it’s inspired by the international summer of sport, just 2024 Olympics kicks off over in Paris.
The day will be packed full of free events and activities to get involved with.
Some city centre roads will be closed on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 July for Manchester Day.
These will include:
🛣️Deansgate 🛣️St Ann Street 🛣️St Mary’s Gate 🛣️Market Street 🛣️King Street
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) July 21, 2024
But of course, in order for the all the fun to go ahead as safely as possible, and as tends to be the case for events like these, Manchester City Council says it will need to make some temporary road closures to facilitate it.
The full list of road closures has now been confirmed by the Council, and there’s some major city centre thoroughfares set to be out of action.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Manchester Day is back for 2024 to celebrate the international summer of sport / Credit: Manchester City Council
Manchester Day 2024 – Road Closures
Saturday 27 July
From 6am to 11:59pm, Manchester City Council has confirmed that the following roads will be closed:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street) – access will be maintained to Marks and Spencer’s car park and Number One Deansgate.
St Ann Street (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street (Cross Street to Deansgate) – no access for deliveries.
All accessible bays, bus lanes, and taxi ranks within the closed areas will also be suspended during from 6pm on Friday 26 July to 11:59pm on Saturday 27 July.
The parking suspensions set to be in place are:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street)
St Ann Street – including the bays outside St Ann’s Church (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Southgate (St Mary’s Street to King Street West)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Victoria Street (Cathedral Approach to Deansgate)
Todd Street (Corporation Street to Station Approach)
King Street (Spring Gardens to Southgate)
South King Street (Ridgefield to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street West (Deansgate to St Mary’s Parsonage)
St James’s Square (John Dalton Street to South King Street)
Cross Street (King Street to Corporation Street)
Museum Street (Peter Street to Windmill Street)
Marsden Street (Cheapside to Brown Street)
Manchester Day 2024: Let The Games Begin! will take over the city centre on Saturday 27 July from 12pm-6pm.
Check out everything you need to know ahead of the event here.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete
Emily Sergeant
Work currently underway on the Rochdale via Oldham line is expected to take several weeks to complete.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed that land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has now “slowed”, and this means that detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works have been able to get underway.
In order for trams to run again on the crucial line from the city centre to the two major Greater Manchester towns, TfGM says that a small section of track has to be moved back – also known as ‘slewed’ – into its original position.
The overhead line poles also need to be repaired too, the transport operator revealed.
Rochdale line update
Land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has slowed, enabling detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works to get underway.
To get trams running again, a small section of track has to be moved back into its original position… pic.twitter.com/byERjitdi1
Unfortunately though, due to the “complex” nature of these works, and despite the fact that TfGM says it’s actively looking to “accelerate” the repairs, the project is expected to take up to five weeks to complete in full.
On top of this, the detailed ground investigations will also establish whether any further work to strengthen foundations beneath the track will be needed at a later date.
TfGM has apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete / Credit: TfGM
Speaking on the scale of works currently underway, and how long he expects them to continue for, Pete Sommers, who is TfGM’s Network Director for Metrolink, said: “I’m sorry for the impact this is having, and will continue to have, on people’s journeys.
“We are working to get trams running through the area again, but this remains a complex and challenging issue and it could still be a few weeks before this happens.
“We will of course keep passengers updated, and I’d encourage people to check our social media channels and website for the latest information and advice.”