Eight areas in England back in lockdown...

Government advice has emerged urging people not to travel into and out of areas hit by the coronavirus variant first found in India, unless necessary



The guidance for Kirklees, Bedford, Burnley, Leicester, Hounslow and North Tyneside says people in these areas should try to avoid meeting indoors.

The advice was published online on Friday without an announcement and urges "an extra cautious approach".

A Downing Street source denied it was a local lockdown by stealth.

The prime minister's official spokesman said the government wanted to encourage the public "to exercise their good judgement", rather than issuing "top-down edicts".

Advice against travelling to Bolton in Greater Manchester and nearby Blackburn with Darwen, other than for essential reasons, and for people there to meet outside where possible, had been issued on 14 May. It was updated to include the six other areas on Friday.

Greater Manchester's Labour Mayor Andy Burnham said issuing the advice without warning was a "major communications error" which had a "major effect on people's lives" and a government minister should issue a clarification.

Several of the local authorities affected by the new advice - which represent more than two million residents combined - said they were not consulted about it.

Leicester's director of public health Prof Ivan Browne said people in the area should continue to follow the national guidance and "there is no justification for Leicester to be treated differently to the rest of the country" - as it has lower levels of the Indian variant than other parts of the country.

North Tyneside Council said officials did not know about it until Monday, while leaders in Lancashire said they would discuss the new guidance with the government later.

Blackburn with Darwen's director of public health Dominic Harrison said the affected areas "were not consulted with, warned of, notified about, or alerted to this guidance".

Layla Moran, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on coronavirus, said the advice risked confusing people.

She said: "This is a major change to policy that will have a huge impact on people's lives. Simply updating the government website without an official announcement is a recipe for confusion and uncertainty."

It's only a matter of time before the rest of the country follows suit.

But, but, Bozo said we were on the way out and it was irreversible!