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Boris Johnson To Announce Manchester Lockdown Decision At 5pm Press Conference

Boris Johnson will hold a press conference on Tuesday where he is expected announce whether Manchester will face more coronavirus restrictions.

The prime minister was locked in talks with Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham at lunchtime on Tuesday following a midday deadline for fraught negotiations on whether the city should enter tier 3 restrictions, including pub closures.

Johnson is expected to set out the outcome of the talks at a 5pm press conference alongside England’s deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van Tam and NHS medical director Stephen Powis.

The PM is likely to impose “very high” restrictions on the city, including the closure of pubs unless they serve substantial meals, even if negotiations on financial support for the city’s 2.8m people have not ended in agreement.

The PM’s official spokesperson told reporters: “The talks have been ongoing this morning. I am not in a position to confirm how that has been resolved.”

Any imposition of new lockdown measures is likely to be met with a chorus of disapproval from the city.

Local leaders have argued that existing tier 2 restrictions have not brought cases down for months, and that financial support needs to be scaled up to help people and businesses hit by further lockdown measures.

Communities secretary Robert Jenrick in a letter offered £22m to help the city enter tier 3, worth around £8 per person, with “additional support commensurate” with that offered in Lancashire and the Liverpool City Region.

But Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell said the government’s offer was an “insult”.

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