Coronavirus news: Hospitals ‘pushed to the limits’ as Boris Johnson threatens tier 3 lockdown on Greater Manchester

Boris Johnson warned he will “intervene” to impose tier 3 restrictions on Greater Manchester as he again rejected calls for a national lockdown.

The prime minister said the government would step in if local leaders refused to agree to tougher measures which would see pubs, bars and casinos shut down and a ban on household mixing.

It came after Lancashire agreed to move into the highest level of the new coronavirus lockdown system in return for £42m in financial support for businesses, the care sector and schools. Gyms and leisure centres will be allowed to stay open, unlike in Merseyside.

Meanwhile London mayor Sadiq Khan warned that the capital could be held under tier 2 restrictions “for months and months and months” if Boris Johnson did not agree to a time-limited, nationwide “circuit-break”.