The decision was confirmed by Health Secretary Matt Hancock during a statement to MPs in the House of Commons this morning.
Announcing the outcome of the first review of the tiered system of coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions, Mr Hancock said the UK has “come so far” in its fight and “mustn’t blow it now”, adding: “As we enter the coldest months, we must be vigilant and keep this virus under control”.
He confirmed that: “For the vast majority of places currently in Tier 3, we’re not making a change today”, with decisions assessed according to the following five published indicators:
Case rates
Case rates amongst the over 60s
Test positivity
Rates of change
Hospital pressure
The ruling means that all ten boroughs of Greater Manchester will remain under the tightest restrictions within the UK government’s three tiered system for the rest of December at least.
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It’s still believed that restriction reviews will continue to be fortnightly.
Local leaders and campaign groups had hoped that some measures in Greater Manchester would be relaxed upon the first review after the region had shown a consistent drop in coronavirus (COVID-19) transmission rates in many boroughs since being placed into Tier 3 following the end of the second national lockdown at the start of the month, but the government has declared that the region will remain put.
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The full list of Tier 3 rules for Greater Manchester can be viewed here.
Many of those local leaders have taken to social media this afternoon to respond to the decision.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham stated on Twitter: “If you look at the figures below, it’s hard not to conclude: when cases rise in the North, the North goes under restrictions, when cases rise in London and the South East, everyone stays under restrictions.”, with Sir Richard Leese – Leader of Manchester City Council – responding: “Even though our numbers are better than either London or Liverpool’s were 3 weeks ago, still in Tier 3 – Unbelievable.”, and Sacha Lord – Night Time Economy Adviser for Greater Manchester – adding: “After the toughest restrictions for months, lower overall indicators than other Tier 2 regions in the UK, next week England can mix up to 3 households, for 5 days – what a kick in the teeth for hospitality”.
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If you look at the figures below, it’s hard not to conclude:
when cases rise in the North, the North goes under restrictions
when cases rise in London and the South East, everyone stays under restrictions pic.twitter.com/M53v8bipPd
Campaign group UnitedCity – who is “calling on the government to review the region’s tier allocation weekly, rather than fortnightly” – branded the decision as: “a knock to all Mancunians who have worked hard to keep our R rate as low as it is”.
With one of the group’s founders, former Manchester United and England footballer and proud Mancunian Gary Neville adding: “They released 5 key criteria 2 weeks ago to measure Tiers by. Manchester is lower than many T2 areas were 2 weeks ago [and] today the government ignored their own criteria,
“The biggest set of charlatans to be ever elected.”
They released 5 key criteria 2 weeks ago to measure Tiers by. Manchester is lower than many T2 areas were 2 weeks ago. Today the government ignored their own criteria. The biggest set of charlatans to be ever elected . ?
The decision by the government today has also come under fire from many local MPs across parties throughout the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester, with one Conservative MP even standing up in the House of Commons to ask Matt Hancock the all-important question:
“What exactly do we have to do to be moved out of Tier 3?”
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Sir Graham Brady – Conservative MP for Altrincham and Sale West, and chair of the 1922 Committee – told Mr Hancock the tier news will be greeted with “dismay” among his constituents as they have had severe restrictions for nine months, despite nine out of 10 boroughs’ case rates now being below the national average.
Mr Brady said: “Our rates are lower than they are in neighbouring Warrington or neighbouring Cheshire, which have been put into Tier 2, and are also lower than they are in Bristol, which has been moved from Tier 3 to Tier 2 today,”
And followed up with: “What exactly do we have to do to be moved out of Tier 3?”
"What exactly do we have to do to be moved out of tier 3?"
Conservative MP Graham Brady says Greater Manchester has had "severe restrictions for nine months"
In response to Mr Brady’s question, Mr Hancock said he understands the “disappointment” that Greater Manchester residents and leaders may be experiencing, but that the “challenge” is whenever restrictions are lifted, neighbouring areas see their cases “rebound” and there is “significant pressure” on the NHS services in the region.
He also added that he “looked very closely” at moving certain areas – Trafford, Stockport, Tameside and High Peak – into Tier 2, but again reinforced pressure on the NHS as being the reason for this not to go ahead.
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Greater Manchester joins other large parts of the North West in remaining in Tier 3.
The official review of local restrictions has also subsequently been published to the gov.uk website this afternoon, providing a further insight into the government’s decision to place / keep areas within certain tiers, and formally concluding that: “the epidemiology indicators remain too high for de-escalation to Tier 2” in Greater Manchester.
The full review reads:
You can read the full published review of local restrictions here.
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For the latest information, guidance and support during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the UK, please do refer to official sources at gov.uk/coronavirus.
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Manchester United reject offers for Mason Greenwood as rep says he ‘should be allowed to move forward with his young life’
Danny Jones
Manchester United have reportedly rejected a number of offers for Mason Greenwood as the club continues their internal investigation into his behaviour.
The club have reportedly received a number of offers for the young forward from Turkish teams in recent weeks and months while Greenwood has been suspended from playing or training. He has yet to return to the sport after charges of attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm were dropped.
The charges handed down in January 2022 were ultimately dropped last month when key witnesses withdrew, more than a year on from the incident that was widely circulated on social media.
Now, following a behind-the-scenes feature by The Athletic and ‘new material’ leading the Crown Prosecution Service to drop the case for the foreseeable, it seems United are now the only party still investigating Greenwood, with his own team and figures around the club pushing for a resolution.
▪️ Police spoke to #MUFC about Greenwood during lockdown ▪️ Senior staff offered guidance but no specialists brought in ▪️ Man United have rejected offers from Turkish sides as internal investigation continues
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) March 27, 2023
Speaking to Laurie Whitwell as part of the piece, one of Greenwood’s representatives argued that there is “no real substance” to the allegations, them “a mix of old news, speculation, half-truths and completely untrue claims.”
He went on to say, “Mason is 21, he has been cleared and should be allowed the opportunity to rebuild and move forward with his young life.”
Another source is also said to have told the outlet that the youngster has been fundamentally changed by the experience, insisting that he “would run through a brick wall” to be back playing at United.
As for the club’s stance, it remains to be seen what their final decision on his future will be, but it was reported earlier this month that a potential return is still “firmly under consideration” and his number 11 shirt has not yet been vacated as many would have expected if he was set to move on.
His potential ‘phased return’ could include everything from therapy to a TV interview.https://t.co/DTisidvpRr
On the other hand, the article goes on to detail questions surrounding Greenwood’s conduct and general attitude during his relatively short time as a senior player too, the suggestion being that he was slacking in training because “he knew he was a good player”.
His attendance at Carrington is said to have been raised as an issue on more than one occasion and then-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær often covered for training sessions and games he missed after failing to turn up to the team hotel for “unexplained absences”.
Another source who watched him play aged just 16 also went on to reveal that Bradford-born academy product “wasn’t shy about telling someone they were s***”, apparently even calling out Cristiano Ronaldo as “dead [finished]” when he was still at Real Madrid.
Greenwood played over 100 senior games for United and was widely considered one of the brightest young prospects in England, let alone the club, but the career trajectory he looked to be on is widely different from the problematic position he finds himself in now, regardless of any offers from abroad.
Led By Donkeys fool MPs into revealing ridiculous £10,000 daily rate in fake job interviews
Danny Jones
British political campaign group, Led By Donkeys, have once again taken aim at the Conservative government, managing to fool multiple MPs by putting them through fake job interviews.
The campaigners hatched the plan to see just how easy it is to ‘hire an MP’, with Tory politicians having been criticised for earning an additional £15.2 million in added income from ‘second jobs’ since 2019 alone — that’s on top of their already £80k-a-year salaries, of course.
So, after setting up a fake consultancy firm based out of Seoul, South Korea called Hanseong Consulting and inviting along a number of MPs, many of whom either previously held or currently sit in senior party positions, they began holding Zoom interviews with the various candidates to see if they’d be interested.
More importantly, however, the crucial question was “how much would they want to be paid?”. The likes of former Matt Hancock and Kwasi Kwarteng had very simple but nevertheless astounding answers:
🚨MPs FOR HIRE: a Led By Donkeys undercover investigation🚨
As you can see in the trailer for the full mini-documentary, both the former health secretary and the ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer quoted their day rate as up to £10,000.
In fact, Hancock broke down his figures even further, insisting that an hourly rate would equate to “around £1,500”. Wonder how that sizes up to the fee he was paid to be on I’m A Celeb? (yes, that wasn’t a fever dream, it really happened). We’ll let you do the nauseating maths on that one.
Other Tories who were duped into putting themselves forward for the made-up job included Gavin Williamson, Stephen Hammond and the Chairman of the party’s 1922 Committee (a private members group known to influencers backbenchers), Sir Graham Brady.
Well, they were the only ‘candidates’ to have issued statements after the fact trying to play down the story, anyway. The campaigners approached 20 different MPs under the guise of the fabricated company, with other individuals dropping out in more preliminary stages.
After having asked for £60k a year on top of his £48k annual salary as the representative for Manc constituency Altrincham and Sale West, this would have been Brady’s fourth job besides his two marketing and comms advisory roles, but assured he would always act “within the Code of Conduct”.
Hammond had more to say on the matter, responding that “scamming is an unpleasant activity undertaken with malicious intent”, while Hancock’s office responded by labelling it a “failed attempt at entrapment” and insisted he is free to look at “exploratory options” as he is set to stand down as an MP.
Led By Donkeys are now in the process of gradually releasing each one of the fake job interviews in full on their YouTube channel.
Emily Sergeant -
17th December 2020 
