What the papers say – October 21
Manchester’s fury over its Tier 3 lockdown amid the worsening Covid crisis features prominently on Wednesday’s front pages.
Growing tensions over lockdowns in the North – with more set to follow – dominate the nation’s newspapers.
The Times leads on Manchester being forced into the highest tier of lockdown, a move The Guardian says has led to “chaos and fury”.
Metro sums up the situation in the North as “tier and loathing”, while the i says Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing the “wrath of Manchester”.
The Daily Mirror and The Independent lead on Manchester mayor Andy Burnham accusing the PM of “playing poker” with people’s lives by putting the city into Tier 3.
And other Northern cities could soon follow, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Meanwhile, the Daily Express leads on a call from Mr Johnson for regional leaders to pull together and work with the Government to conquer the coronavirus.
The Daily Mail says police are urging pubs and restaurants to “snoop” on customers to make sure they stick to lockdown rules.
The Financial Times examines Mr Johnson’s current battles on a few fronts, saying the PM is being “buffeted by tussles with city leaders, business and Brussels”.
And the Daily Star returns to a favourite theme, depicting the Prime Minister, his adviser Dominic Cummings and Health Secretary Matt Hancock as clowns because of a “pub loophole” in the new coronavirus restrictions.
