Boris Johnson Retreats Again, Leaving U.K. Virus Plan in Disarray
- Lockdowns will remain in place in Greater Manchester area
- Labour’s Starmer accuses Johnson of ‘serial incompetence’
Boris Johnson on Sept. 1.
Photographer: Toby Melville/WPA Pool/Getty Images
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Boris Johnson’s government announced another U-turn on Wednesday, caving in to pressure from opponents and keeping local lockdown rules in place amid a rise in Covid-19 cases.
The prime minister is pushing to get Britons back to work and school, and his team had decided restrictions imposed in some areas of northwest England should be eased. But local politicians, including Greater Manchester’s mayor, Andy Burnham, condemned the plan and warned infections were rising again.