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Boris Johnson will unveil tough three-tier lockdown TODAY: PM to hold emergency Cobra briefing this morning before announcing travel bans and closure of pubs, bars and gyms for millions in Covid hotspots for up to SIX MONTHS

Boris Johnson will today reveal tough new three-tier lockdown rules for England which will close pubs, bars and gyms for millions living in coronavirus hot spots for up to six months.  

The Prime Minister will hold an emergency Cobra briefing on Monday morning to hammer out the final details before setting out the new nationwide system in the Commons.

Local leaders in Liverpool and Manchester last night railed against the Government's decision, accusing Mr Johnson of not providing enough consultation before introducing the business-battering restrictions. 

From 5pm on Wednesday, hundreds of pubs in the northwest will be closed for four weeks, The Telegraph reports, while The Sun says that overnight stays are to be banned for the same period.

Locals will only be allowed out of their areas for essential travel such as for work, education or health, but they must return before the end of the day, with the country divided into 'medium', 'high' and 'very high' risk sectors.  

If a business is closed due to third tier restrictions, the Government will pay two thirds of each employee's salary, up to a maximum of £2,100 a month, according to The Telegraph.

For tier two, households will not be allowed to mix indoors, similar to restrictions already in place in Middlesbrough and Hartlepool, while tier one will be similar to the rules currently in place across the country. 

The rules will be applied for a month before they are reviewed but could run for up to six months.  

Revellers leave the pubs after closing time in Liverpool city centre this evening enjoying the last weekend before COVID restrictions are expected to force pubs and bars close in the area

Revellers leave the pubs after closing time in Liverpool city centre this evening enjoying the last weekend before COVID restrictions are expected to force pubs and bars close in the area

LIVERPOOL: Revellers pack into Church Street on Saturday night - the city is expected to be plunged into strict Tier Three measures tomorrow

LIVERPOOL: Revellers pack into Church Street on Saturday night - the city is expected to be plunged into strict Tier Three measures tomorrow 

LIVERPOOL: A trio of women walk through the streets with jugs of alcohol after kicking out time last night

LIVERPOOL: A trio of women walk through the streets with jugs of alcohol after kicking out time last night

MANCHESTER: Diners enjoy a meal out on Sunday ahead of new measures for the north of England

MANCHESTER: Diners enjoy a meal out on Sunday ahead of new measures for the north of England

Young people having a drink out in Manchester on Sunday, ahead of a government announcement on Monday

Young people having a drink out in Manchester on Sunday, ahead of a government announcement on Monday

Customers at The Restaurant Bar and Grill in Manchester on Sunday ahead of a government announcement on Monday

Customers at The Restaurant Bar and Grill in Manchester on Sunday ahead of a government announcement on Monday 

People outside the Revolucion de Cuba bar in Manchester on Sunday

People outside the Revolucion de Cuba bar in Manchester on Sunday

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Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson, who earlier held a call with officials in London, tweeted tonight to say he had been told 'no buts' over what would be imposed on his city, while insisting: 'We have not agreed anything.' 

Politicians from Manchester today launched a last-ditch appeal to ministers not to shut all pubs and restaurants in the city and instead hand them the power to only close those which are not meeting coronavirus safety restrictions.   

Liverpool recorded the second-highest infection rate in England in the 14 days before October 4, with 4,593 confirmed cases (928.2 per 100,000 people). The neighbouring borough of Knowsley had the worst rate, with 1,412 cases and an infection rate of 944.  

Downing Street sources said no decision had yet been taken on where a Tier Three system would apply. 

A Downing Street spokesperson said: 'Our primary focus has always been to protect lives and livelihoods while controlling the spread of the virus and these measures will help achieve that aim.

'We must do everything we can to protect the NHS and make sure it can continue to deliver the essential services that so many people rely on.

'This is a critical juncture and it is absolutely vital that everyone follows the clear guidance we have set out to help contain the virus.'

Liverpool's mayor Joe Anderson tweeted tonight: 'We have not agreed anything, we have been told this is what Government intends to do with 'no buts.' I and all the Leaders of the CA and @MetroMayorSteve have not accepted anything we have been trying to get financial support to protect our businesses and support our Region.' 

As the mayors in the north threatened legal action over 'oppressive' lockdowns imposed from London:

WHAT DO THE TIERS MEAN?

TIER ONE  

Tier one restrictions are believed to mirror those already in place across England.

These include the rule of six, a 10pm curfew, group sport to be played outdoors only and a maximum of 15 guests at wedding ceremonies.  

TIER TWO 

Tier two restrictions are expected to be similar to rules currently in place in Middlesbrough and Hartlepool, where indoor mixing of households is prohibited.

Two households may be allowed to meet in a private garden, as long as the rule of six and social distancing are followed.

TIER THREE 

Locals will only be allowed out of their areas for essential travel such as work, education or health, and must return before the end of the day.

Overnight stays by those from outside of these 'high risk' areas will also be banned, The Sun reports. 

Households are expected to be told not to mix either indoors or outdoors.  

From 5pm on Wednesday, hundreds of pubs in the northwest will be closed, The Telegraph reports. 

Restaurants will be limited to takeaway services only, the BBC says, and bookies, casinos, gyms, beauty salons and hairdressers could all be shut.

It is believed that these measures will be imposed for four weeks before they are reviewed.

If a business is closed due to third tier restrictions, the Government will pay two thirds of each employee's salary, up to a maximum of £2,100 a month, according to The Telegraph. 

 

Manchester is also understood to be in the Government's three-tiered sights, with five of the city's MPs today warning Mr Johnson of the 'devastating impact' of closing businesses.

Not only would 'jobs, livelihoods and businesses,' be put on the line, but more illegal gatherings would result, they said.

The letter was sent by Labour's Lucy Powell, Jeff Smith, Mike Kane, Afzal Khan and Graham Stringer.  

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham this morning blasted a lack of communication from the Government, telling Times Radio: 'To be called to a meeting with 10 Downing Street on a Friday evening, to be effectively presented with proposals that needed to be agreed over the weekend, I mean that isn't adequate or acceptable consultation to me. 

'That is being railroaded into a position. It's all come too late.'

Mr Johnson's plans were also savaged by the leader of Bolton Council, who warned they would  destroy the economy of the north of England at a time when he was trying to 'build back better', including in former Red Wall Labour seats taken at the 2019 General Election.

And giving a brutal assessment of the plans on the BBC's Andrew Marr programme this morning, David Greenhalgh said: 'My immediate reaction is that it is oppressive.' 

A further 32 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths reported in hospitals to 30,471, NHS England said this afternoon.  

Mr Burnham, asked on Times Radio what he would say to Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick, said: 'Isn't it time for a major change here, a complete reversal of what we have seen so far?

'Localising the response to this crisis but critically, as Joe (Anderson, Liverpool mayor) said, putting in place a help package and an economic package to help the North of England through.

'I would say to him this, are we levelling up here or are we levelling down? Which is it?

'If you go ahead with this financial package, in my view, that will be to break what the Government said it would do when they were elected.

'If they continue with this, jobs will be lost, businesses will collapse, the fragile economies of the North will be shattered.

'The Government has a real choice here, if it proceeds on the path it is on, in my view, the central so-called mission of this Government to level-up will be over.'

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Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick insisted today that the Government is working closely with local leaders ahead of new coronavirus measures being brought in

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick insisted today that the Government is working closely with local leaders ahead of new coronavirus measures being brought in

Some 65 more people have died after testing positive for Covid-19 - nearly double the 33 deaths recorded last week

Some 65 more people have died after testing positive for Covid-19 - nearly double the 33 deaths recorded last week

A further 12,872 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK as the country's daily case total stays above the 10,000 mark for an entire week

Rise in Britons being treated with Covid in hospital is partly driven by them catching it on wards, figures show 

The rise in Britons being treated with coronavirus in hospital is being driven in part by them catching it on the wards, the latest available figures indicate. 

The number of hospital cases rose from 2,396 to 3,660 – an increase of 52 per cent – between September 30 and October 7. 

But separate statistics show almost one in five with the virus in hospital tested positive seven days or more after admission – implying they caught it there. 

The findings suggest Covid-19 hospitalisations caused by community outbreaks may not be growing as fast as some fear. 

Rises in admissions have been greatest in North West England, say health officials. 

But the total number of virus patients in UK hospitals is still a fraction of the peak figure of 19,849 in April. 

Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy told Marr: 'It's really hard to explain how angry people are in the north of England about what has happened, not just over the last few months but over the last few days. I haven't felt anger like this towards the government since I was growing up here in the 1980s. 

'People feel that they haven't just been abandoned by the government, they now feel that the government is actively working against us.'

Mr Jenrick insisted today that the Government is working closely with local leaders ahead of new coronavirus measures being brought in.

He told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday: 'We have spent the weekend working with those local leaders.

'I have spent the whole weekend talking to leaders from Merseyside, from Greeter Manchester, from other parts of the country.

'We are trying to work very closely with mayors, with council leaders, with chief executives to design these measures with them. That does take time.

'We want to have good communication between national and local government before we announce how we are going to take this forwards.'

Mr Greenhalgh also took aim at the new Job Support Scheme unveiled by Rishi Sunak on Friday, warning that anything less than support on the level of the original furlough programme would send firms 'to the wall'.

He added: 'We cannot ''build back better'' if we have lost some of these businesses.'

The Prime Minister is expected to introduce a three-tier system of lockdown measures in an attempt to make the existing patchwork of restrictions easier to understand.

Prime Minister is set to detail a new three-tier system of restrictions with measures expected to force pubs and restaurants to shut across the North of England and see millions of people banned from mixing indoors and outdoors

Prime Minister is set to detail a new three-tier system of restrictions with measures expected to force pubs and restaurants to shut across the North of England and see millions of people banned from mixing indoors and outdoors

Areas with relatively low infection levels will be placed in 'tier one', where only national restrictions such as the 'rule of six' and the 10pm curfew on pubs and restaurants will apply.

'Rule of Six' restriction may be lifted temporarily by Chancellor over festive period 

The 'Rule of Six' restriction on social mixing could be lifted temporarily for Christmas to let family groups of up to 12 enjoy the festive period. 

If approved, the limit on meetings of more than six people would be doubled during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to allow inter-generational celebrations. 

The temporary total of 12 was chosen because it would allow two sets of grandparents and parents, three children and an aunt or uncle to meet without flouting the law. 

Those two days were suggested because, typically, they are when families spend the most time indoors together – and by Boxing Day are keen to escape outside. 

Business Secretary Alok Sharma is understood to be the leading Cabinet advocate of the plan – assuming Covid infection rates have been broadly kept under control by mid-December. 

The temporary lifting is regarded as a better option than the alternative plan, which would be for families to isolate for a fortnight before Christmas to allow them to gather on the day.  

The rule of 12 plan is being hatched as Tory MPs grow increasingly restive about the rule of six and the 10pm pub curfew.

Tier two will also include bans on home visits and indoor socialising with other households. Options for tier three include total closure of the hospitality sector, a ban on overnight stays outside the home and the closure of venues such as cinemas.

Swathes of the North of England, including Manchester and Liverpool, could be placed immediately into the tier with the most severe restrictions, so pubs and restaurants would have to shut their doors.

Mr Greenhalgh added: 'We have put our proposals in as Greater Manchester leaders ... that we are against a lockdown as we understand it, at Tier 3, which is the complete lockdown of hospitality.

'Our position is very clear that we feel we need to move to extra restrictions, but ones that protect those most vulnerable and susceptible to the virus but ones that don't continue to have an adverse effect on our local businesses and economy.'

Real estate adviser Altus Group has said there are 7,171 pubs in areas with restrictions across the north of England at risk of temporary closure.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced on Friday workers in businesses which are forced to close under the new restrictions will have two-thirds of their wages paid by the Government under the JSS.

But it is less generous than the furlough scheme which comes to an end on October 31. 

Asked about Mr Sunak's JSS revamp, unveiled on Friday, Mr Greenhalgh added that anything less generous than the original furlough was 'quite frankly unacceptable'.

'Many of these businesses will sadly go under,' he said. 

'We cannot build back better if we have lost some of these businesses. These great independent businesses that people put their life savings into will be lost.

'The north feels like it is being treated differently. We know our   rates are high, we are not underestimating that, but we have to find a way through this that ... looks at the economy.

'We cannot throw our local economy to the wall, to kill it in the north.'

Britain recorded another 12,872 coronavirus cases on Sunday, marking a nine per cent increase on last Sunday's adjusted total which followed the Government's extraordinary figures blunder.

The figures mark a 2,294-case drop from yesterday's daily total of 15,166. Saturday's death toll was 81 - 16 more deaths than the 65 recorded today. 

more videos

Councillor David Greenhalgh calls Boris's lockdown plans 'oppressive'

Argument erupts before 'Patriot Muster' member shot by security

Shadow Chancellor says areas in north of England feels 'forgotten'

Students at Edinburgh University report receiving disgusting food

Speeding Peugeot overtaking on the wrong side slams into turning car

Trump says he's 'immune' and ready to campaign in Fox interview

Nicola Sturgeon reveals Alex Salmond messages live on television

Matt Lucas performs role of Thénardier in Les Miserables on BGT

National weather forecast: Sunday morning showing brighter spells

Louise Redknapp sings emotional tribute for Caroline Flack

Bride corners fiance at work and demands to get married

Teacher dies from cancer but details intense cancer journey

An empty looking Mathew Street in Liverpool, the latest area of the north of England to be hit by local restrictions preventing households from mixing

An empty looking Mathew Street in Liverpool, the latest area of the north of England to be hit by local restrictions preventing households from mixing

On Saturday, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, England's deputy chief medical officer said 'the seasons are against us' and the country is running into a 'headwind' ahead of the winter months.

In a statement, Prof Van-Tam said that while the epidemic 're-started' again among younger people over the past few weeks, there is 'clear evidence of a gradual spread into older age groups' in the worst-hit areas.

But he also said the UK has 'much improved testing capabilities' and 'better treatments' available, meaning that 'we know where it is and how to tackle it'.

He stressed the importance of following public health guidance and minimising contact with others, adding: 'I know this is very hard, but it is an unfortunate scientific fact that the virus thrives on humans making social contact with one another.'  

One in eight Londoners is immune to coronavirus: Up to 13% of capital's residents now have Covid antibodies - while other regions are as low as 1% 

By William Cole For Mailonline 

London could be shielded from the worst of a second wave of coronavirus because one in eight people in the capital have developed antibodies.

There is growing optimism that the UK's largest city is not seeing a rapid rise in case numbers because a higher percentage of residents have become immune to the virus than in any other region.

Recent data from Public Health England shows a prevalence of SARS-Cov-2 antibodies among blood donors as high as 13.4 per cent.

The figures from London stand in contrast to the rest of the country, with the North East and Yorkshire showing a 3.9 per cent prevalence, and the South West region at 3.5 per cent. 

And in the north west, which has been largely placed under local lockdown for the past month, had a prevalence of 6.8 per cent in the latest figures, suggesting high infection rates in the region had meant more people produced antibodies.

The rate of antibodies in the population does vary over time, and government advisers are believed to have suggested up to 20 per cent of the capital's residents could be immune to the virus, according to the Sunday Times.

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