Police fought to enforce coronavirus laws in London last night as they faced defiance from both protesters and drinkers refusing to go home. After being turfed out of pubs and bars at 10pm, crowds spilled on to the streets of Soho (pictured) where an anti-lockdown rally, which counted Piers Corbyn among its ranks, was gathering. Officers were forced to make arrests (top right) after encountering an alarming lack of compliance just hours before Covid restrictions were tightened even further as the capital was plunged into Tier 2. Londoners are waking up this morning to more curbs on everyday life, with two households now banned from meeting indoors unless they have formed a support bubble. Boris Johnson yesterday thanked mayor Sadiq Khan for working with the Government to place the capital into the higher alert level - and urged Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to also cooperate. Mr Burnham is resisting the Prime Minister's move to place the region into Tier 3 and is instead agitating for a nationwide lockdown, leaving negotiations with ministers deadlocked. But Mr Johnson yesterday used a Downing Street press briefing to warn that he is prepared to elevate Greater Manchester unilaterally, sparking council leaders to signal they are willing to come to the table. Lancashire leaders yesterday struck a deal with Government and joined Liverpool in the most severe Tier 3 bracket, meaning all pubs and restaurants must close unless they can serve food.
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