i heard only yesterday, steve rotheram saying, iam only yesterday, steve rotheram saying, i am fed uping conversations with ministers, and now he is going on twitter saying cubby has not agreed anything with government. but it doesn't matter what he agrees or not, so why isn't downing street just what he agrees or not, so why isn't downing streetjust going ahead?” think because they have been stung by criticism in the past of imposing d i ktats by criticism in the past of imposing diktats from whitehall. it also demonstrates the power of the mayoral model that the likes of david cameron were big champions of, that you have powerful regional figures, who are household names locally and have a platform nationally. we saw that illustrated this weekend is with the four labour mayors in the north of england to a joint news conference. i think where we will get two is an attempt by the government at westminster to bind in local leaders in england... don't blame us such a local pub isn't open at that you can't drive to wales, it's down to local leaders that have agreed with us. precisely. on

liverpool metro mayor steve rotheram said they would now be allowed to reopen but soft play areas would"exact measures" in place to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, according to the former head of the civil service. lord sedwill, who left his job last month, said there is "a genuine question" about whether the uk could have been "better prepared". in his first tv interview since leaving number 10 he's been speaking to our political editor laura kuenssberg. readers everywhere have been challenged by the pandemic that what do you think the government got wrong in the early months? we do not yet know. in the end the inquiry, whenever it comes, will have to address to the questions. one is whether decisions are taken at the right time. the second big question, which in a sense has been less exposed, is what where the capabilities that the state had to deploy? is the government really robust going into this? that goes to this point about what were our capabilities as a whole and clearly although we had exercised and prepared for pandemic we did not have in place the exact measures and we

interesting to hear the prime minister lavishing praise on the leader of the liverpool region, steve rotheramyor in that part of the country. he is the only one so far who has been willing to agree with the government's new set of tough restrictions, except almost as soon as borisjohnson have finished lavishing praise on him, he was out there online saying, actually, the restrictions had been imposed on him, rather than anything that had been agreed with the government. let's face it, local mayors are politicians too. there are, of course, agendas on all sides here. but it's interesting today that we have seen downing street try to shift some of the power, some of the responsibility on to leaders around the country. there have been tensions between the two all the way through this. now, seven months into this pandemic, it could be one of the shifting contours that it changes our politics for good. the liverpool city region will have the toughest tier three restrictions imposed from wednesday. our special correspondent ed thomas is there. yes, sophie, this place has closed its doors now, it is

beginning of the week even though they said, "oh, it was all lovely, it was all marvellous" — steve rotheramhe most famous man in british politics, according to boris johnson. they've got the power to impose it. but after today if they impose it, and i think they probably will end up doing that, it's going to have a big political cost, no question. and it plays into the thing, doesn't it, laura, well, the thing that some of us i suppose at westminster now nerdily obsess about and have done for years, where we are seeing in technicolour now the kind of structures of government, how government is playing out every day in a way that is noticeable to people only paying a kind of fleeting glimpse in the direction of politics, whether it be the tensions we have seen and the differences we have seen as far as cardiff and edinburgh and belfast are concerned compared with england, and now within the english regional models of mayors and big local authority leaders who are big figures in their local areas, well known in their local areas, but now have something of a national stage as well. yeah, that'

and this is the view of steve rotheram, the metro mayor of the region.le. that doesn't help anyone. instead the only risk made the situation worse. liverpool and the surrounding area is the only part of england facing the strictest top tier of restrictions. household mixing is banned and some bars and restaurants are shut. there are concerns in nearby manchester that it could face stricter rules soon. this is what the mayor of greater manchester andy burnham thinks of that. it would be preferable to go for a national circuit break option, rather than this regional approach, which we have real doubts about whether it will work. for more on this, here's bbc‘s danjohnson in liverpool. it looks like it is only a matter of time before other parts of the northwest joined time before other parts of the northwestjoined liverpool in that toughest tier of restrictions. the only question seems to be exactly what level of support will be available for the workers that will be affected. leases that go into the very highest tier, workers were forced out of work becaus

have a health catastrophe turn into an economic catastrophe — that's why i support andy burnham, steve rotheramh by postcode on our website. the owner of a venue in west london could face a fine of up to £10,000 after police broke up a wedding reception with more than 100 guests. body—worn camera footage from the met shows guests being led from the tudor rose in southall on tuesday evening. only 15 guests are currently allowed under coronavirus restrictions. a source from the mayor's office says he would find it "unacceptable" to remove free travel from children and older people in the capital. it follows reports that the government is offering transport bosses another bailout deal of £1 billion to keep services running, but only if they raise fares, curb travel entitlements, and extend the congestion charge zone. the mayor's office says negotiations continue. let's take a look at the travel situation now. on the tube, the northern line has minor delays between camden town and high barnet and mill hill east due to a signal failure. a quick look at the north circular, where it's the usual delays

liverpool metro mayor steve rotheram said they would now be allowed to reopen, but soft play areas wouldave turned violent — with soldiers reportedly opening fire on demonstrators in the country's biggest city, lagos. there are reports that at least 20 people have been killed, with more wounded. the nigerian military have denied involvement — the government has appealed for calm and promised a full inquiry. some viewers may find images in caroline hawleys report distressing. a peaceful protest was how it began. large crowds of people came out to raise their voices against police brutality despite a curfew. what happened later when the security forces turned out has shocked the nation. gunshots. dusk fell to the sound of live gunfire. eyewitnesses say soldiers were firing directly at them. 0ne described it as pandemonium. people took shelter where they could to try to keep safe. they are shooting, they are shooting at us, they are shooting. this morning the governor of lagos visited some of the wounded. an investigation has been promised as international condemnation mounts, including fro

signed by andy burnham, jamie driscoll, danjarvis and steve rotheram, it calls the newjob support schemeto have gone far enough to prevent genuine hardship". the merseyside borough of knowsley has one of the highest coronavirus infection rates in england — 602 cases per 100,000 of the population. it's also one of the most deprived parts of the country, and unlike some other areas which have seen big increases it doesn't have a large student population. our special correspondent ed thomas reports. i live on the 13th floor and i'm thinking i'm safe up there because it's down here. as coronavirus cases spike, peter has decisions to make. i've got a 14—year—old daughter in school. some of the students have got it in the school and i'm thinking, should i pull her out or should i keep her in? why don't you just stay at home with her and look after her? because obviously i've still got to go to work. i still provide for my daughter. all too real, a close elderly family member is now ill. her two kidneys are packing in and she has been tested as positive, as covid—19. do you think she's going to

let's speak to steve rotheram — the metro mayor of the liverpool city region, hejoins me now.he highest level. what is your reaction to that? on to tier three, the highest level. what is your reaction to that7m has come as no surprise to us, because we already knew from the lea k because we already knew from the leak in the newspapers last wednesday that we were going to go into tier three. what we have done is to ask the government why it is that we need to go into tier three, and of course how do we get out of tier three back down to 22—macro as soon as possible. the reason why is the very high of cases in liverpool region, and the high number of hospitalisations as well, we gather. we a cce pt hospitalisations as well, we gather. we accept that both our hospitalisations and certainly if you have a look at the number of people and the capacity issues that we have currently got, the frightening prospect that we could be overwhelmed in just a few weeks, thatis be overwhelmed in just a few weeks, that is one of the factors. the second part is the exponential rise in covid trans

the mayor of liverpool, steve rotheram, has said that gyms in the region will now be allowed to reopenughest covid measures. local leaders had campaigned for the rules to be standardised. michel barnier, the head of the eu's task force for relations with the uk, has expressed hope at the prospect of a deal with the eu, despite the difficulties the two sides are having in reaching agreement. he said this morning that time was running out and that it was important to make progress in the next few days. translation: despite difficulties we have faced, an agreement is within reach. if both sides are willing to work constructive, to work constructively, and both sides are willing to compromise, and if we are able to make progress in the next few days on the basis of legal texts, and if we are ready in the next few days to resolve the sticking points, the trickiest subjects. because time is of the essence, and time is running out each and every day. that's why, along with our british counterparts, we must endeavour to find solutions to the most difficult areas. hello, this is bbc news with v

the metro mayor of liverpool city region steve rotheram said the local area had been hit particularlyle unable to work due to ill health. that is only got worse. we have a disproportionately high number of deaths over the last seven or eight months in the liverpool city region. this will increase pressures on mental health and well—being. the impact of that may not be immediate but we‘ll see that increase in the months ahead. chrissie mclaren runs an events recruitment company in leeds — providing staff to large events. 01:10:05,603 --> 2147483052:11:47,516 she hasn‘t been able to operate 2147483052:11:47,516 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 since march and joins me now.(0s) we had three weeks of complete lockdown hospitality and we had three months of regulation so i have argued constantly and not been afraid to speak up against my own government to see their help was required and we needed extra help. 0ur required and we needed extra help. our business is a much more fragile base as we came into these negotiations. so businesses are on the edge. we have already lostjobs in bolton and busine

let's speak now to steve rotheram who's the metro mayer for the liverpool city region.ective government if its strategy is an announcement effective government if its strategy is an announcement by media leak. we have said all along we want to have an open and meaningful dialogue with government and i just asked them an open and meaningful dialogue with government and ijust asked them to speak to areas where potentially they could be facing even more stringent lockdown measures. we have talked to you before and you have said consistently that you think the government's approach is incorrect, that they should be taking advice from regional leaders like you. what then would you want to see in place if not what you have got, and what you might be getting? the reason i have said what i did say previously, including on this programme, is because we need a far more sophisticated approach. we need to understand what the science is saying in our individual areas and then choose from a menu of restrictions that will have the desired effect. we all believe that this is our last s

let's speak now to the metro mayor steve rotheram. their behalf but also we wa nt negotiated on their behalf but also we want some surety from the national government that if we hit some of the milestones, we can come out of tier three fairly quickly. we saw that the lights had been on very early at number ten. they involved in these discussions trying to find out the financial support you will receive, and also, as you say, the potential exit strategy of how you come out of tier three and come down to tier two. that is the big question. there are some things we have finalised with much more local control. one or two packages of support around capacity for our local authorities. they are already in the bag but there is still some detail that we need absolute assurance on. so the government are serious about the wider financial support for businesses like your piece has just introduced, support for businesses like your piece hasjust introduced, he support for businesses like your piece has just introduced, he will be nervous about goin