Liverpool mayor would back Covid tier 4 in England

Mayor Joe Anderson said he appreciates the huge impact Covid has had on families

Liverpool's city mayor has said he would support more robust Covid-19 restrictions if it meant halting the spread of the virus.

Joe Anderson, whose brother Bill was one of 61 people to die with the virus in the city in one week, said he would "back tougher measures if necessary".

He wants to monitor the impact of tier three over the next two weeks before considering a possible tier four.

He told BBC Breakfast his brother died of a virus that "takes no prisoners".

The Labour mayor said the virus has had "an enormous impact" on families and businesses in Liverpool.

"It has taken untold damage on people's wellbeing and a huge toll on families where people have died. If anything was required to bring it down faster I would do that," Mr Anderson said.

"However, I want to make sure that we are giving tier three a chance to see if the measures have an impact."

He said he would review the results in 14 to 16 days' time.

The mayor's brother Bill (right) died within eight hours of admission to hospital

Mr Anderson said the death of his "larger-than-life" brother who "inspired" him was a "great blow".

"Bill was taken so suddenly we never got chance to say goodbye," he said.

"Six weeks prior to that we lost our brother [Henry] to cancer - a traumatic time to say the least.

"My eldest son was also going through cancer treatment during the pandemic.

"We weren't even able to give him a hug or be with him."

Mr Anderson was embroiled in negotiations over restrictions to combat infection rates when Bill was admitted to hospital. Within eight hours he had died.

"It's a disease that takes no prisoners," the mayor said, "It is heartless in the way it deals with people."

Liverpool has the third highest number of infections in England

His experience has left him "acutely aware of the pain that people are going through" and "frustrated and annoyed" with people who dismiss the virus as fake or ignore government guidelines.

He added: "This virus isn't going to go away until we get a vaccine."

Unlike neighbouring Greater Manchester, Mr Anderson did not enter protracted negotiations over an aid package for tier three.

He said without student cases Manchester's infection rates are lower "but when you take our student figures out - the rest stayed stubbornly high".

"We had to take action because people were dying, getting infected and our hospitals were being overwhelmed."