Lockdown guidance for north of England described as 'deeply chaotic' after late-night government announcement

Ministers have been accused of spreading confusion and anxiety over the new lockdown guidance for northern England after a “deeply chaotic” late-night announcement just hours before the rules came into effect.

Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said she “could not describe the level of chaos” in her Wigan constituency resulting from the announcement, which created new legal offences enforceable by police and carrying fines of up to £100 with less than three hours’ notice.

And Conservative MPs in the affected area raised protests about the inclusion of parts of Greater Manchester where rates of Covid-19 infection remain low.

Meanwhile, the head of the Muslim Council of Britain, Harun Khan, said that the timing of the announcement, hours before the first day of Eid, felt to Muslims "like being told they cannot visit family and friends for Christmas on Christmas Eve itself".

“Failure to communicate makes it difficult for communities across the country to continue working together to minimise the spread of the virus, whilst eroding trust in the ability of authorities to steer our course as we tackle the Covid-19 crisis," said Mr Khan.

“The UK Government has failed to provide clarity on the shockingly short notice and the reasoning behind the new rules that British Muslims deserve – any such clarification would be most welcome.”

However, health secretary Matt Hancock insisted he was right to act quickly and comprehensively when evidence emerged of increased levels of coronavirus due to households mingling in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and east Lancashire.

The announcement of a regional ban on indoor meetings between members of different households - which also covered the city of Leicester - was made at around 9.15pm on Thursday via a string of tweets and a short TV clip by the health secretary.

It followed phone conferences involving Mr Hancock, health experts and local leaders including mayors and MPs for the areas affected, as well as a meeting with the prime minister at Downing Street. As discussions continued, a planned press conference to announce the outcome of a review of local lockdown in Leicester was repeatedly delayed, prompting mayor Sir Peter Soulsby to accused ministers of messing the city about and declaring: “What a way to run a country!”

Exact details of the new restrictions were not published on the gov.uk website until Friday morning, hours after they came into effect. As Mr Hancock took to the airwaves at breakfast time, it was revealed that Boris Johnson and chief medical officer would answer questions about the changes in a press conference at 10 Downing Street at noon that day.

Ms Nandy described the announcement as an “absolute shambles” adding: “Nobody is arguing that the Government shouldn’t move quickly where evidence exits that there has been a spike in Covid cases, and we have certainly seen that in Greater Manchester.

“So, it’s absolutely right that they do this. But I cannot describe to you the level of chaos that there was last night with this announcement, because the government was essentially asking people to comply with new rules in just a few hours’ time without any detail about what those rules were going to be.”

Tracy Brabin, Labour MP for Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire, said the way the new lockdown measures had been announced was “deeply chaotic”.

She said: “To announce this sort of measure late at night on Twitter caused an awful lot of anxiety in my community. It’s a new low.

“It affects millions (of people) and businesses. I have been getting messages from families asking ‘can I take my children to the childminder?’, ‘can I go to work?’... It has caused a lot of anxiety.”

In a press conference today, Sir Peter Soulsby said there was still confusion in Leicester about what was allowed: “I’m sure lots of people in Leicester will not have a clear understanding of what was announced yesterday and what it means for them.

“I think the fact the timing of the decision was put back several times – and even when it came out, the bit about Leicester was very much an afterthought in a bigger statement - leaves a lot of uncertainty and a lot of frustration.”

Meanwhile, Conservative MP for the Greater Manchester constituency of Hazel Grove, William Wragg, said: “Greater Manchester is not one homogeneous area. We must always err on the side of caution with Covid, but to treat all 10 boroughs the same is not the right approach.”

Notably, his comment was retweeted by the influential chairman of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, who added: “I agree. Latest update for Trafford says ‘infections continue to be at a low level’.”

The mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham backed the government’s action, but was critical about the manner of its announcement.

“They have a habit of saying something and then it being a few hours until the detail emerges,” he told Sky News.

“And that certainly was the case last night, and later on last night a lot of people I think felt very uncertain about what exactly was being announced.

“So what I would say to them is ‘I understand the need to make announcements, I understand the need for decisive action, but when ministers go in front of the cameras, make sure you’ve got the detail ready to go exactly at the same time’.”

Mr Hancock defended his handling of the new restrictions: “We made the announcement last night, we are moving quickly in some circumstances and I think that’s very important and it’s one of the things that when you face a pandemic like this, it is important sometimes to move quickly, if that’s what’s needed.

“And I’m pleased that Andy Burnham is supporting this action. It’s absolutely necessary and of course sometimes we have to move quickly when we can see the growth of the virus and I understand the impact of decisions like these.

“I understand that this is not a sort of decision that anybody would want to take, but as we’ve seen before, it is important to move quickly because the virus spreads and you’ve got to make sure you do everything you can do keep ahead of it.”

Mr Hancock insisted the new guidelines were “crystal clear”, but appeared to get the details wrong in an interview with the BBC in which he said a household in an affected area could travel to visit another household outside the area, as long as social distancing guidelines are followed.

The guidance published by the government states: “If you live in the affected areas, you should not visit someone’s home or garden regardless of whether this is in or outside of the restricted area.”

MPs for affected areas said that there was no clarity within their constituencies about what was now allowed or not allowed.

Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell said people had been asking her whether they were able to visit elderly relatives they are looking after who live outside of the restricted area, and whether they can go on holiday with another household elsewhere.

Describing the launch of the regional restrictions as “a bit of a disaster”, she said: “Shockingly bad comms with potentially devastating consequences for many. We need to be continually cautious but we also need confidence and clarity.”

Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman said he backed the tighter controls, but found it impossible to get clarity on them in the hours after the announcement, tweeting late on Thursday: “Receiving many questions about the tightened lockdown, unfortunately very little information provided by the government and I am urgently seeking answers.”

Stalybridge and Hyde MP Jonathan Reynolds said: “I have to say a few tweets from a minister late at night is not the way to announce something as significant as this.”