Forex Trading For Beginners 2021: Covid in Scotland: Nicola Sturgeon defends Manchester travel ban

Scotland's first minister has defended the ban on non-essential travel with Manchester and Salford after an angry reaction from the area's mayor.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham accused the Scottish government of "hypocrisy" over the move.

But Nicola Sturgeon said the decision was a public health measure, based on Covid levels in the area.

Opposition politicians in Scotland said there had been a lack of consistency and a lack of consultation.

However, Ms Sturgeon - who received her second vaccination in Glasgow on Monday - said she had a "duty" to keep Scotland as safe as possible.

"I have always got on well with Andy Burnham. If he wants a grown-up conversation he only has to pick up the phone," she said.

"But if, as I suspect might be the case, this is more about getting a spat with me as part of a some positioning in a Labour leadership contest of the future, then I am not interested."

The first minister said she was "confused" by Mr Burnham's position.

"Back in May we imposed travel restrictions on Bolton for exactly the same reasons we are now doing it on Manchester," she said.

"Andy Burnham is mayor of Bolton as well and he did not raise any of these issues then."

Ms Sturgeon said the restrictions would not be enforced differently to previous travel rules, and would be in place "no longer than is absolutely necessary".

Appearing on BBC's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, Mr Burnham said the travel restrictions had been announced "out of the blue" on Friday.

"That is exactly what the SNP always accuse the Westminster government of doing - riding roughshod over people.

"The SNP are treating the north of England with the same contempt in bringing that in without any consultation with us."

Murdo Fraser, the Scottish Conservatives' spokesman for Covid recovery, said Mr Burnham was "absolutely correct" to express concern about the ban and the "lack of consultation".

Mr Fraser told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme there was a "lack of consistency" in the Scottish government's approach.

"We know that the city of Dundee, for example, has case rates very similar to Manchester," he said.

"So why is there a travel ban being introduced for Scots going to Manchester, but there are no similar restrictions put in, in relation to Dundee?"

Dundee, Manchester and Salford have similar case rates. Seven-day rate per 100,000. .

Dundee, which has the highest Covid case rate in Scotland, recorded 487 new cases in the week up to 18 June, according to UK government figures.

Manchester recorded 1,928 cases and Salford 880 in the same period, but the rate per 100,000 people for all three areas is very similar.

Jackie Baillie, deputy leader of Scottish Labour, said people would find the ban hard to understand.

"This has just been put in place without any consultation, without any dialogue and without any concern for either the people of Manchester or the tourism industry in Scotland," she said.

"Are we consistent in saying it's OK to travel in and out of areas of Scotland where the rates of infection are higher than they are in Manchester? That's the inconsistency that people just do not understand."

Are you affected by the ban on non-essential travel between Scotland and Manchester and Salford? Have you had to change your plans? Please share your stories and pictures with us.

You can now get in touch with BBC Scotland on the phone messaging service, WhatsApp.

To start using the app, simply download WhatsApp on to your smartphone free from the internet.

Then add our WhatsApp number +44 7902 704679 to your phone's contact list.

Please make sure you read our terms of use and privacy policy.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said the provisions that had been put in place were "consistent" with approaches taken in the area previously.

Non-essential travel was banned between Scotland and Bolton in Greater Manchester, and Blackburn with Darwen in Lancashire, on 24 May.

Mr Burnham said he would be writing to the Scottish government to ask how it would compensate businesses in Manchester who could lose bookings.

But Mr Swinney said that would not be "appropriate".

Asked whether similar travel restrictions should be introduced in Dundee, Mr Swinney said the Scottish government would need to look "very carefully" at "localised situations".

Mother-of-two Renu Bhardwaj had been due to travel to Manchester this weekend.

"The children are finishing school in four days and we had plans to go down and meet my family again and enjoy the summer holidays, or make the most of what we can," she said.

The lifestyle blogger, who moved to Glasgow 13 years ago, used to make regular trips south to visit her relatives before the pandemic.

She said she could understand the reasoning behind the decision, but that the timing, so close to the school holidays, was "the worst for everybody".

On Sunday, the UK recorded another 9,284 Covid cases - including 7,778 cases for England and 1,205 for Scotland - and a further six deaths within 28 days of a positive test.

Both nations have seen a rise in the the seven-day infection rate with the Scottish infection rate at 128 per 100,000 people and 86 per 100,000 people in England.

North-west England had the highest proportion of people in England who are likely to test positive for the virus in the week to 12 June, at a rate of about one in 180.

Scotland, which has one of the highest infection rates in Europe but also one of the highest vaccination rates, has paused the lifting of Covid restrictions this summer because of rising cases.