Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has called for Cobra to be reconvened with seats for the northern regions, as he said a 'north-south' divide was opening up on access to testing.

He has called for the government to recall Cobra as a matter of urgency as "the north needs to be levelled up on testing without delay."

Mr Burnham has welcomed the move by government to provide more support for people on low pay who have to self-isolate and says it is important to build a sense of national unity ahead of a challenging winter.

Giving all English regions a place on Cobra would improve the dialogue between local and national government, and speed-up decision making, he said.

With large parts of the north under local restrictions, Andy Burnham believes the particular needs of northern communities and business need more focus at a national level. 

The Mayor said: "I would like to thank the Government for listening to our calls to provide financial support for people on low pay to self-isolate.

"We now need to build on this positive move and establish a stronger sense of national unity ahead of a winter which will test us all in so many ways.

"To do this, I am today calling on the Prime Minister to give a place for all of the English regions on a reconvened Cobra, alongside London, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

"The North of England is experiencing the highest number of cases but also the greatest difficulty in accessing tests. This North-South testing divide can’t be right and is exactly the kind of issue that a reconvened Cobra needs to resolve. 

"The North needs to be levelled up on testing without delay."