Andy Burnham trying to hold us over a barrel on lockdown, says Raab

Foreign secretary urges Greater Manchester mayor to relent in row over tier 3 Covid restrictions

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Dominic Raab has accused the Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, of trying to hold the government over a barrel" by resisting a tier 3 lockdown, as a member of the government's scientific advisory panel said the general feeling" among experts was that regional restrictions would not work.

The foreign secretary said action was needed in the areas most affected by Covid-19 to avoid a national lockdown, and he urged Burnham to relent.