Andy Burnham claims government note shows Covid tier 3 restrictions imposed on Manchester as ‘punishment beating’ – as it happened

A very high alert warning sign in Piccadilly, Manchester in December 2020. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

5.20pm GMT

Afternoon summary

• Boris Johnson appeared to have no idea that Greater Manchester had spent months under tougher Covid restrictions than London, Andy Burnham has said, arguing that this exemplified an over-centralised approach to the pandemic. As Peter Walker reports, Giving evidence to the inquiry into Covid, Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, said he felt his region was given a “punishment beating” with less financial support after pushing back against regional restrictions. He also told the hearing that Matt Hancock, the health secretary at the time, decided to impose severe tier 3 restrictions on Greater Manchester in October 2020 despite believing the measures would be ineffective.

• Additional lives were lost during Covid because of “bad faith” by Boris Johnson’s government in excluding London’s representatives from early emergency meetings about the pandemic, denying ministers vital knowledge, Sadiq Khan, the city’s mayor, has said.

• Consultants in England have reached a deal with the government that could end strikes, the Department of Health and Social Care has said.

• James Cleverly, the home secretary, has refused to assure Tory MPs that the government’s new legislation on the Rwanda deportation policy will allow the European convention on human rights to be ignored. (See 3.20pm.)

• Rishi Sunak has said the UK will not return to the close relationship with China pursued under David Cameron, as the prime minister met business leaders in an effort to drum up foreign investment.

Andy Burnham arriving at the Covid inquiry this morning. Photograph: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Shutterstock

Updated at 5.21pm GMT

5.11pm GMT

No 10 says UK economy will 'keep outperforming expectations' after Bank of England governor says growth potential is poor

Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, has said growth potential for the economy is lower than it has been for most of his working life (he joined the Bank in the mid 1980s). In an interview with the Chronicle in Newcastle, he said:

It does concern me that the supply side of the economy has slowed. It does concern me a lot. If you look at what I call the potential growth rates of the economy, there’s no doubt it’s lower than it has been in much of my working life.

Downing Street does not accept this analysis. At this afternoon’s lobby briefing for journalists, asked about what Bailey said, the PM’s spokesperson said the economy would continue “outperforming expectations”. He said:

I think you heard from both the prime minister and the chancellor on the UK’s economic outlook.

We do believe that we have turned a corner, particularly given the success in halving inflation. And you saw an autumn statement which was designed to boost the UK economy with new policies like full expensing, which was long called-for by businesses and we are confident that as a result we will keep outperforming expectations.