Wigan to be in Tier 3 restrictions from Friday morning after funding talks collapse

Pubs and bars will be closed, unless they are serving substantial meals, for a 28-day period, along with betting shops, casinos, bingo halls, adult gaming centres and soft play areas.

Household mixing will be banned indoors and in most outdoor settings and travel in and out of the area is strongly discouraged.

The new rules will come into force just after midnight on Friday.

Mr Johnson said the public health situation meant the Government had to take action.

However, the introduction of the very high alert level came on a day of deep anger about the level of support being offered.

Mr Johnson confirmed the city-region will be getting around £22m, a far cry from the figures of between £60m and £65m which were widely reported as being discussed during the afternoon's ultimately-unsuccessful talks between the Government and civic leaders.

Mr Johnson told the press conference: "I know these restrictions are tough, both for businesses and individuals, and believe me no-one wants to be putting these things into effect.

"We have tried to get an agreement on the approach with local leaders but unfortunately agreement wasn't reached.

"I do regret this. It would have been better and we would have a better chance of defeating the virus if we work together. I hope the mayor and local leaders will work with us now to implement these measures."

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who was told of the £22m figure in the middle of his news conference, said: “It’s brutal, to be honest. This is no way to run a country in a national crisis.

“It’s not right, they should not be doing this.

“What we have seen today is a deliberate act of levelling down.”

Wigan MP Lisa Nandy also reacted to the announcement with fury.

The shadow foreign secretary said: “In ten years in Parliament I’ve never seen anything like this.

“MPs are on a call with the Health Secretary being told Greater Manchester is getting only £22m while our Mayor is at a press conference being told by the media. This is bad faith, it’s immoral – just disgraceful.

“We were told £22m is for test and trace, not a single extra penny promised to help businesses and minimum wage workers.

“The Government appears to be waging war on the people of Greater Manchester. I grew up under Thatcher but I’ve honestly never seen anything like this.”

Makerfield MP Yvonne Fovargue said: "Wigan has been in tighter restrictions than most of the country with the consequent impact on people and businesses. I have lost count of the number of businesses that have contacted me struggling to survive and unfortunately the Government are now playing politics with the lives and livelihoods of people across Greater Manchester.

"In meetings with Ministers no evidence has been provided, despite repeated asks to show how the new measures would contribute to bringing down the spread of the virus.

"As we now move to Tier 3 we will face the prospect of tighter restrictions when we know from SAGE that they are unlikely to work and a huge hit to people's incomes and I feel so sorry for businesses that have invested in making their businesses as safe as possible during the pandemic only to see them having to close once again.

"The Government's refusal to provide a realistic financial package of support is yet another snub to the people and communities of Wigan and Greater Manchester."

Mr Burnham's stance has been supported right at the top of the Labour Party, with leader Sir Keir Starmer calling the breakdown of talks "a failure of Government" and accusing ministers of treating northern regions "with contempt".

Conservative MPs from Greater Manchester have been equally unhappy over the threat of Tier 3, although for different reasons to Labour politicians.

Bolton West MP Chris Green, whose constituency includes Atherton and who recently resigned a junior Government post over his belief that "the cure is worse than the disease" when it comes to localised restrictions, wrote on Facebook on Tuesday night: "The government believes that three weeks of closing pubs and soft play centres will make a dramatic difference. It hasn’t and it won’t.

"I am disappointed that this lockdown has been imposed and I don’t believe the science supports this action. I think the health and economic impact will be damaging to our community but we have to do all we can to respect these rules since they have been imposed."

In the House of Commons on Tuesday evening health and social care secretary Matt Hancock said several times that an offer of support for businesses remained on the table and the Government's door was very much still open.

Leigh MP James Grundy asked if the minister would meet with politicians and council leaders to find "a fair and workable solution".

Mr Hancock said a support package proportionate to that offered to Lancashire remained available and the Government would meet "anyone from Greater Manchester" to discuss a way forward.

"It's best done as a team effort. I hope council leaders in Wigan, colleagues from across the house and, if he wants to, the mayor will work together for the people of Greater Manchester," Mr Hancock said.

At the press conference on Tuesday Jonathan Van-Tam, the deputy chief medical officer for England, said the heat maps for Greater Manchester showed "very significant" spread of the virus among almost every age group.

He was also particularly alarmed by case and hospitalisation rates among residents aged 65 and older, saying these are the groups that "give the NHS significant problems".

Business organisation the CBI said the divisions between local and central government were "deeply disappointing" and called for additional financial support to be urgently made available to protect people's livelihoods.

The Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce gave a scathing response, calling the announcement "a bitter blow" and the reduction of money being made available "a petty act of political sabotage on a regional economy by the government".

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) said the city-region should not have had to negotiate for help and called for much more support for workers, saying Tier 3 would have "a massive impact".