Mayor Steve Rotheram received 'direct threats' after Covid-19 announcement

Steve Rotheram says he received "direct threats" after the Liverpool City Region was placed under tier three covid-19 restrictions.

The Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor joined Andy Burnham and Sadiq Khan in giving evidence to the Covid-19 inquiry on Monday (November 27), kicking off another big week of public hearings, with former health secretary Matt Hancock set to appear on Thursday and Friday.

The trio of mayors shared their views on how the government handled the Covid-19 pandemic, discussing topics such as the national lockdowns and regional involvement in decision making.

Monday's hearing began at 10.30am with evidence from London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, who told the inquiry he had been "kept in the dark" in the early stages of the pandemic. He also stated that "lockdown two may not have even been needed" had the government taken advice from himself and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies for circuit breaker restrictions.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, spoke next and said he first became aware of Covid-19 through media reports and the Chinese community in Manchester. He noted issues in communication from the government, both to himself and to the public, mentioning an article about the pandemic, written by a health minister, appearing behind a paywall.

Mr Burnham noted the first lockdown being "lifted too early" and issues with obtaining test and trace data. He said a "more devolved approach to the pandemic" would have been safer.

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, was the last to give evidence on Monday, being sworn in it around 3.30pm. Both Rotheram and Burnham have previously spoken out about financial support during the 2020 autumn lockdown.

What did Mayor Rotheram say?

Speaking to the inquiry on Monday, Mayor Rotheram said he tried to "reduce the burden" on key workers by offering free public transport during the pandemic, however, there were limits to the powers of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

Mr Rotheram noted that communication from government about the handling of Covid-19 was poor. "On nearly every major announcement... we were watching what was going to happen on the news," he said. "We were reacting rather than than proactively working with government."

In January 2020, the first wave of British passengers on an evacuation flight from Wuhan were taken to Arrowe Park Hospital (Wirral) to quarantine, however, Mr Rotheram said "we were not even informed" of these plans and that he first heard about it on the news. He added: "That seems to be the way things were conducted early on."

Mr Rotheram also noted that he and eight other Metro Mayors believed their voices should be heard at Cobra meetings, however, that representation did not happen. Mr Rotheram, however, did attend one Cobra meeting.

Tier structure

Mr Rotheram stated that on October 5, 2020, Matt Hancock had mentioned the possibility of "additional restrictions" however, the idea of a tier system was "muted".

He noted that due to the Liverpool City Region's high 'R rate' at that time, conversations were ongoing about the potential of tier three restrictions (the highest level) and that financial impact on residents was a "massive" concern.

Mr Rotheram added that he initially found out that the government was planning to place the Liverpool City Region under tier three restrictions via a headline in The Times newspaper.

"Direct threats"

The Metor Mayor said he called the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and agreed that a joint committee would announce the details of restrictions in Liverpool, to "nail" communication and ensure compliance.

Mr Johnson did not stick to this decision and went on to announce the news himself. Mr Rotheram said the news then "blew up" on Twitter and that he received "direct threats" from members of the public, resulting in the chief constable posting 24-hour security.

Champions League match

On March 11 2020, Covid-19 was declared as a pandemic, however, the Champions League football match between Liverpool and Atletico Madrid still went ahead. More than 50,000 people are believed to have attended the game.

During the hearing, Pete Weatherby KC presented questions to Mayor Rotheram on behalf of the Covid Bereaved Families for Justice group. He asked: "In terms of the match going ahead, were you consulted by ministers or government officials about the decision?

Mr Rotheram, who attended the match, responded: "At no stage were we consulted by anybody. We were trying to get information but at that stage the government said the fixture was low-risk. He added that he was concerned about the potential risk, however, "we had no scientific evidence to support the fact that we were concerned about it." He added: "Had the goverment said it should not go ahead, I think everyone would have breathed a sigh of relief."

Discussing whether he believed herd immunity to be a real possibility at this stage, Mr Rotheram said: "I'm not a scientist - I hadn't heard of herd immunity beforehand - this was something we were reading about and learning about and worried about.

"But we do know from evidence to this inquiry that there were allegations against the PM about piling up the bodies and that's how it felt out on the front line of this, it felt as if they were just going to allow it to let rip - and that was a major concern for us."

He added: “It was a waste of time, effort and energy trying to get them to help or advise.”