Category Archives: Greater Manchester

Manchester shows support for Marcus Rashford: ‘It’s evolved into something special’

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Community comes together to back England footballer and oppose racism after mural was defaced

“We’re going to take the knee like the footballers do,” said Nahella Ashraf, leading a crowd of at least 300 people in performing the anti-racism gesture in front of the freshly repainted mural of Marcus Rashford on Tuesday evening.

Ashraf, a member of Manchester Stand Up to Racism, said she aimed to show “we are the majority” after the mural was defaced in the wake of England’s Euro 2020 final defeat.

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Boris Johnson urged to look into death of British woman in Pakistan

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Kelsey Devlin’s family in Burnley had concerns for her welfare and want transparency over how she died

The prime minister of Pakistan and Boris Johnson have been asked to intervene in the case of a British woman who died in Pakistan, with MPs and her family calling for transparency over the circumstances.

Kelsey Devlin, a 27-year-old carer and mother of two from Burnley in Lancashire, died on 30 June in a hospital in Rawalpindi. A death certificate says the previously healthy young woman died of sepsis, a stroke and cardiopulmonary arrest, but her family in Burnley say they were concerned about her welfare in Pakistan before her death.

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New Manchester park to use Victorian wells to water greenery

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Mayfield Park will be watered using wells discovered while archaeologists were on site

Manchester’s first public park for more than a century will use recently uncovered wells from the Victorian era to provide a sustainable source of water.

The 2.6-hectare (6.5-acre) Mayfield Park will sit behind Piccadilly station and provide play areas and floodable meadows. The £1.4bn development’s greenery will be watered using three Victorian wells that were discovered while archaeologists were on site to catalogue historical features of the site.

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‘Jaw-dropping’ fall in life expectancy in poor areas of England, report finds

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Sir Michael Marmot’s report says Covid figures from Manchester reveal sharp decline in social conditions

Boris Johnson’s post-Covid “levelling up” agenda will fail unless it addresses declining life expectancy and deteriorating social conditions in England’s poorest areas, a leading authority on public health has warned, as he published figures showing the impact of the pandemic on Greater Manchester.

Sir Michael Marmot revealed the coronavirus death rate in Greater Manchester was 25% higher than the England average during the year to March, leading to “jaw-dropping” falls in life expectancy and widening social and health inequalities across the region over the past year.

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Scotland’s Covid travel ban extended to Manchester and Salford

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Nicola Sturgeon prohibits non-essential travel as Delta variant spreads through north of England

Nicola Sturgeon has imposed a travel ban between Scotland and Manchester and Salford as a result of rising Covid cases.

The restrictions, which will come into force from Monday, add to travel limits put in place last month as the Delta variant spread rapidly through the north of England.

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Hancock: most Bolton Covid patients eligible for jab but haven’t had it

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Health secretary’s comments come amid mounting concerns over spread of Indian B.1.617.2 variant

The majority of people in hospital with Covid in Bolton were eligible for the vaccine but have not had it, Matt Hancock has said, saying that health authorities would go “door-to-door” offering jabs.

His comments came as concern mounted over increased cases of the B.1.617.2 variant first detected in India, particularly in the north-west and parts of London, which could affect the future easing of lockdown restrictions.

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The Hut Group strikes complex joint venture deal with SoftBank

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Deal values ‘yet to be formed’ technology division of THG at $6.3bn

The Hut Group (THG), the online retailer empire run by billionaire Matthew Moulding, has struck a complex joint venture deal with Japanese investment giant SoftBank that values a “yet to be formed” technology division of THG at $6.3bn (£4.5bn).

The deal, announced on Monday, values THG Ingenuity, which Moulding described as a “social media influencer platform” used to promote products, at about the same amount that the whole company floated at last year.

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British man who died in crush at Israeli festival is named as Moshe Bergman

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Bergman, 24, had been in Israel to train as a rabbi before dying at Mount Meron

A British man who died in a crowd crush at a Jewish festival in Israel has been named as Moshe Bergman.

The 24-year-old from Salford, Manchester, had been in the country to train to be a rabbi in Jerusalem. He had been living in the city for two years and had married 18 months ago.

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Couple reunite in Bolton care home after one year apart due to Covid lockdown – video

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Stanley Harbour, 83, and his wife, 81-year-old Mavis, embraced at Lever Edge care home in Great Lever, Bolton, in a moment captured on film by care workers. Stanley, who lives with dementia, has been confined to the home since his wife last visited him in February 2020, before the Covid-19 pandemic triggered care home lockdowns. They had been ‘lost without each other’, according to the Manchester Evening News

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Two Manchester Arena bombing victims could have been saved, inquiry hears

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Evidence given that Saffie-Rose Roussos and John Atkinson could have survived with ‘different’ emergency service response

Firefighters did not arrive at Manchester Arena until two hours after the suicide bombing, only one paramedic entered the blast scene in the first 40 minutes, and Greater Manchester police (GMP) did not declare a major incident until the following day, the inquiry into the terror attack has heard.

The Manchester Arena inquiry, which resumed on Monday, moved to examine the response of the emergency services to the tragedy.

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Victorian bathhouse uncovered beneath Manchester car park

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Mayfield baths found in ‘stunning’ condition by archaeologists on site behind Piccadilly station

A large Victorian washhouse that served Manchester textile workers more than 150 years ago has been uncovered during work to create the city’s first public park in a century.

The ornate tiles of the Mayfield baths, whose pools measured nearly 20 metres, were found in “stunning” condition beneath a car park 164 years after it opened.

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Patel attacks Burnham as Greater Manchester’s police chief resigns

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Home secretary says mayor has ‘thrown senior officer under bus to save his own skin’

The home secretary has attacked the mayor of Greater Manchester as the area’s chief constable stepped down after the force was placed in special measures.

Ian Hopkins said he was bringing forward his retirement in the wake of a damning report by inspectors that found the force had failed to record 80,000 crimes, a fifth of all offences, in the year to 30 June.

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Greater Manchester police to be placed in special measures

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Inspectors had expressed ‘serious cause for concern’ after force failed to record a fifth of all reported crimes

Greater Manchester police (GMP) are to be placed in special measures after inspectors expressed “serious cause for concern” when the force failed to record a fifth of all reported crimes.

Last week Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) criticised GMP for failing to report 80,000 crimes in the year to 30 June.

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UK Covid live: tier 3 rules extended across southern England as secondary schools face staggered January return

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Latest updates: ‘vast majority’ of areas currently in tier 3 will remain there; secondary school pupils’ return to class in England will be staggered

The Department of Health has released a written ministerial statement giving the reasons for the decisions taken today about why areas in England are staying in, or moving from, particular tiers. It’s here - although the version up at the moment only covers the north-west, the north-east and London.

The government is to provide interim cover for EU holiday healthcare costs for people who require routine hospital treatment such as dialysis and chemotherapy in the event there is no Brexit deal to replace the current European Health Care Insurance Scheme (EHIC).

In a written ministerial statement Edward Argar, a health minister, said:

This government will introduce the scheme with the intention that it is used by individuals who are certain to require treatment while abroad, such as regular dialysis, oxygen therapy or certain types of chemotherapy. The government recognises that these ongoing, routine treatment costs can be expensive, and makes travelling abroad extremely challenging for many people.

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Manchester bomber may have trained with Libyan militia, inquiry told

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Senior police officer says it is ‘not unreasonable’ to suggest Salman Abedi fought or trained with militia in 2011

The Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi may have trained and fought with Islamist militia in Libya, an inquiry into the attack has been told.

Abedi’s cousin Abdurrahman Forjani told police that he had travelled to Libya during the 2011 revolution and got a job “locating Gaddafi supporters”.

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A tale of two cities: Manchester, Liverpool and the journey of Covid tiers

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Analysis: the two regions have emerged with contrasting fortunes from their dealings with Westminster

As Matt Hancock put the final touches to England’s new lockdown regime on Wednesday night, the mood of leaders in Manchester and Liverpool could not have been more different.

On Merseyside the leaders felt they had done all they could to have become the first English region to leave the strictest coronavirus measures introduced six weeks ago. The Liverpool city region has now been moved down to tier 2.

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Police let public down on night of Manchester Arena bomb, chief says

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British Transport Police assistant chief constable says officers should have been patrolling site of attack

A senior police chief has admitted that officers who failed to patrol the site of the Manchester Arena bomb “let the public down”.

An inquiry into the terrorist attack heard that two British Transport Police (BTP) officers left the area to take a meal break of more than two hours, involving a five-mile trip to buy kebabs.

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Andy Burnham hits out at Tory MPs over Covid negotiations criticism

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Greater Manchester mayor dismisses claims by local MPs that he rejected a good deal

Andy Burnham has lambasted Conservative MPs trying to encourage the government to pick off Greater Manchester councils one by one after the region failed to collectively reach a coronavirus deal with ministers.

The government said the £60m business support offer unanimously rejected by Burnham and Greater Manchester’s 10 leaders was “still on the table”, as it was announced the Sheffield city region would be the latest in England to be put into the tightest tier 3 restrictions.

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PM confirms Covid tier 3 restrictions for Greater Manchester as talks fail

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Boris Johnson refuses to specify how much support region will get

Greater Manchester will be moved into the highest tier of coronavirus restrictions from midnight on Thursday, Boris Johnson has confirmed as he refused to say whether a £60m offer of support for the region remains on the table following failed negotiations.

Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, the prime minister did not specify how much support the region would get. Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, had sought £90m in support for businesses and staff affected by the measures, dropping the request to £65m, but ministers offered £60m and ended the talks without a deal.

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Greater Manchester given midday Tuesday deadline for tier 3 deal

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Government says it will impose tier 3 restrictions on the region if no agreement reached

The strictest Covid restrictions will be imposed on nearly 3 million people across Greater Manchester if no deal is reached by midday on Tuesday, the government has said in a dramatic ultimatum.

The communities secretary, Robert Jenrick, warned northern leaders late on Monday night that if they fail to agree to pub closures and a ban on household mixing, the tier 3 measures will be brought in unilaterally.

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