Police to review £10k fine given to NHS pay protestor
Local Mayor Andy Burnham has asked the force to perform an "additional review process" of the Fixed Penalty Notices - which was issued to Karen Reissmann for organising a 40-person protest on St Peter's Square on Sunday (March 7).
A £10,000 fine was issued by police to 61-year-old Karen Reissmann for her role in organising a protest against NHS pay
The £10,000 fine handed to a 61-year-old health worker for protesting NHS pay rates is being reviewed, Greater Manchester Police have confirmed.
Local Mayor Andy Burnham has asked the force to perform an “additional review process” of the five-figure Fixed Penalty Notice issued to Karen Reissmann for organising a 40-person protest in St Peter’s Square on Sunday (March 7).
Reissmann had helped arrange the mass gathering to campaign against the government’s proposed 1% pay rise for nurses – which she called “insulting“.
Under current coronavirus legislation, maximum penalties of £10,000 can be issued to anyone who organises gatherings of over 30 people.
Reissmann was accused of showing “a degree of non-compliance” when officers aimed to disperse her protest group, with police claiming it “necessary” to issue her with a fine.
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The decision is now currently being reviewed.
A GMP spokesperson stated: “The FPN given last weekend is currently undergoing an additional review process following a request from the Mayor to do so.
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“All of our £10k FPNs are reviewed before processing so as well as this initial review we will review both the command decisions to ensure they were proportionate and commensurate with our strategy and previous operations, in addition we have asked for this to be reviewed by our legal department and provide a response back to the Mayor as to whether this was an appropriate course of action by GMP.”
A GoFundMe page has also been set up to help Reissmann pay her fine – with over £17,000 donated so far.
The fundraiser page, supported by actress Maxine Peake and over 900 others, said that extra donations would be passed on to a mental health charity.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended the pay increase this week, claiming the government was giving “as much as we can” during the tough conditions of the pandemic.
But The Royal College of Nursing (RCB) has repeatedly called on the government to reverse their decision and “give nursing what it deserves”.
The organisation has claimed a 1% pay rise would only amount to an extra £3.50 a week in take home pay, and a petition has been posted online calling for a much higher boost of 12.5%.
In an open letter to the Prime Minister, the RCN said that nursing staff’s wages does “not reflect the essential work they do” in “highly skilled, complex, responsible roles”.
“Many are now worse off than they were 10 years ago and are considering leaving the profession,” reads the statement.
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“Fair pay for nursing is about making sure that a safety-critical profession can reach safe staffing levels, to provide safe and effective care for all people of the United Kingdom.”
UK union UNISON is one of several groups campaigning for a show of solidarity for health workers tonight – with people urged to head to their doors and balconies for a ‘slow hand clap‘ on Thursday 11 March.
The display aims to put a sardonic spin on the ‘clap for carers’ campaign – which saw Brits applaud essential staff for their work during the pandemic.
There is also a plan for the slow handclap to be repeated on April 1 – the date NHS staff were due for a wage increase.
UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Times may be tough but this deal is below-inflation and derisory.
“It’s like the worst of austerity is back.”
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Teen sentenced after deliberately driving into a female police officer in Stockport
Emily Sergeant
A teen who deliberately drove into a female police officer at a retail park Stockport earlier this year has been sentenced.
Harvey Bell was at a retail park on Wilmslow Road in Cheadle back on 25 January 2025 when he seriously injured a Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officer during a shocking incident – which left the officer requiring hospital treatment.
At the time, the 19-year-old from Knutsford was present while police were investigating reports of class C drug use in a car park.
Police parked in front of an Audi and the officer signalled for Bell to remain stationary and turn the engine off, but instead he reversed, and as the officer approached the front windscreen, Bell drove at the officer, knocking her to the ground.
He then proceeded to drive over her legs with both sets of wheels, before heading out of the car park at speed.
#JAILED | A man who deliberately drove into a police officer in Stockport has been jailed.
Harvey Bell (12/08/2005) has been sentenced to 31 months in a Young Offenders Institute and was disqualified from driving for two years.
— Stockport Police (GMP) (@GMPStockport) June 4, 2025
Bell was subsequently arrested the following day and made no comment in his police interview, but then went on to plead guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, as well as possession of cannabis on 27 March 2025.
The teen appeared at Manchester Crown Court this week where he was sentenced to 31 months in a Young Offenders Institute, and was also disqualified from driving for two years – which will take effect when he is released.
“What [Bell] did to me is permanently in the back of my mind, every call I go to, I feel the apprehension, the fear that any incident, no matter how innocuous it appears, can end with being assaulted or hurt,” the officer explained in a powerful victim impact statement read in court.
“This is an unseen result of Bell’s assault on me.”
She continued: “I know that Bell’s abhorrent behaviour is an exception, and the majority of the public we serve do not wish us harm, but assaults on police need to stop. An attack on a police officer is an attack on us all.
“Bell is a danger to society and had total disregard for my life.”
Featured Image – GMP
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IKEA announces decision to close popular Greater Manchester site
Emily Sergeant
It’s the end of the road for one of IKEA’s popular Greater Manchester sites.
The Swedish furniture giant has announced its decision to close its ‘Plan and Order Point’ over in Stockport in a couple of weeks time.
The store – which is located in Stockport town centre’s Merseyway Shopping Centre – launched to huge success back in March 2023, and at the time, was the second of this ‘test and trial’ format to open in the UK, becoming a smaller space dedicated to kitchen and home planning, as well as ordering items.
IKEA says the closure comes as a result of ‘valuable learnings’ which plan to take this conceptual format in a direction to ‘better suit the needs of UK customers’.
IKEA is closing its close popular Stockport site this month / Credit: Jon Super (via IKEA)
Since the opening of the Stockport Plan and Order Point, IKEA claims it has seen an increased demand for Click and Collect services, a desire by customers to shop a smaller selection of home furnishing accessories, as well as the ability to return goods to physical IKEA units, and this is all something which the current location is unable to offer.
Learning from this change in consumer habits, the company says its future Plan and Order Point openings – including in those in other northern cities like Hull and York – will offer these services.
IKEA says it also remains ‘committed’ to trialling new formats, such as its upcoming small stores, one of which will open in nearby Chester later this year.
Luckily for IKEA fans, the retailer has confirmed that its major Greater Manchester store in Ashton-under-Lyne, as well as the neighbouring store in Warrington, will remain open as normal, offering all the services available at Stockport and more.
The Swedish furniture says the closure comes as a result of ‘valuable learnings’ about customer needs / Credit: Jon Super (via IKEA)
In addition to the upcoming opening of a smaller store in Chester, IKEA has revealed that the North West continues to be an area of interest for future expansion.
“After careful evaluation, we’ve made the difficult decision to close the IKEA Plan and Order Point at Merseyway Shopping Centre,” explained Salma Azad, who is one of IKEA’s Area Managers.
“In the two years since opening, we’ve taken valuable learnings, including how our customers prefer to meet IKEA, and we’ll take these insights into future openings, to serve shoppers in a more impactful way.”
Thanks to last year’s Click and Collect expansion, Stockport residents can now pick up purchases from Tesco Extra Stockport and Tesco Extra Stretford, as well as the Manchester store and the upcoming small store in Chester.
Stockport Plan and Order Point’s final day of trading will be on 16 June.
The Manc -
11th March 2021 
