Leeds news LIVE: Road closed in Beeston after fight between youths

A road is closed in Beeston after a fight between youths last night.
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Police were called when one youth was reported to have a gun.

A cordon is currently in place in Cottingley Drive while enquiries continue to establish the circumstances.

Leeds news LIVE: Road closed after fight between youths

Key Events

  • Beeston road closed after fight between youths
  • Coronavirus infections fall but concerns remain about variants
  • Union leaders are stepping up calls for more safety inspections in workplaces as indoor hospitality prepares to reopen.
  • Child sex offenders who are caught before they can abuse a minor could face up to 14 years in prison under a proposed shake-up of sentencing guidelines.
  • HS2 will launch its first giant tunnelling machine

First picture from the scene:

Details on the incident from AA:

“Road closed due to police incident on New Station Street both ways from Boar Lane to Bishopgate Street. Bus services 4, 16, 19, 19A, 40 are all diverting via Mill Hill.”

New Station Street has been closed by the police

Today’s Yorkshire Evening Post front page: “Read to be back in business”

This is today’s Yorkshire Evening Post front page on Tuesday, May 11, 2021.

Grab a copy in your local shop or read online via our app here: https://app.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/

Good morning and welcome to the Yorkshire Evening Post live blog on Tuesday, May 11.

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Whitty on the Indian variant

Professor Chris Whitty said it is not yet known whether the Indian variant could cause problems in autumn.

He said: “What we know is, with all the variants, that things can come out of a blue sky and you’re not expecting it and then something happens.”

Speaking about the B.1.617.2 variant first detected in India, he said: “It has gone up very sharply and I think that’s a reason for us to be very careful about it.”

He said the current thinking is that it is “highly transmissible”, at least as transmissible as the B.1.1.7 variant (first detected in Kent) and possibly more but that is not yet known.

He added: “At this point in time our view is it is less likely to be able to escape vaccination than some of the other variants, particularly the South African one, but the data are not properly in there so I think, you know, we need to be cautious until we’ve seen clear data that give us an answer one way or the other.”

He said: “Of course we don’t know whether this is going to cause significant problems in the autumn.”

Prof Whitty said the way to deal with it is to continue the work that is already being done in terms of identifying cases, isolating those cases, carrying on with the vaccine rollout and ensuring there is the capacity to pick up variants and “revaccinate as necessary when the autumn comes”.

He added: “The way to minimise the number of variants that circulate is obviously to get on top of this as a global problem and that is something which all of us are absolutely determined to support.”

Whitty on lockdown progress

England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said the four tests had been met which enabled the next stage of lockdown easing to proceed.

He cautioned that it remains important to move forward “carefully and steadily”.

Of the vaccine rollout, he said it is clear the process has been “very successful” and added that there is “very clear data from real-world settings” showing the effectiveness of the vaccines in preventing hospital admissions and deaths.

Speaking about coronavirus variants, he said the variant first detected in India is one “we need to keep quite a close eye on”.

He said: “This is actually spreading from very small amounts but it is beginning to spread in certain parts of the country and we need to keep quite a close eye on this.

“So the point about this is: the threats are significantly reduced but there are still some residual issues that we need to keep a very close eye on and therefore we need to go carefully and steadily, as the Prime Minister has said.”

June 21 date will stay

Prime Minister Boris Johnson indicated he would not bring forward the June 21 date for the final step of easing the restrictions.

He told the Downing Street press conference: “The secret of the success that we’ve had so far is that we’ve been guided by the data and we’ve given time to see the effect of each successive stage on the road map.”

Mr Johnson said next Monday’s easing is “a very considerable unlocking” which will bring “a lot of extra movement, a lot of extra contact”.

“We think it’s prudent, we think we can do it, but it’s got to be done in a way that’s cautious and I think that we will want to have time to see the effects,” he added.

“We must remain vigilant"

Boris Johnson has said people should continue to follow social distancing rules when not with family and friends.

He told a Downing Street news conference: “We only have to look at the very sad situation in other countries to see the lethal potential of this virus  and we must continue to fight the spread of variants here in the UK.

“While we have no evidence yet to believe these variants are completely vaccine resistant, we must remain vigilant.”

PM on social distancing

Boris Johnson has said the Government will update its  guidance on close contact between friends and family on Monday.

The Prime Minister told a No 10 press conference that it would set out the risks involved so people could make their own choices.

“This doesn’t mean that we can suddenly throw caution to the winds. We all know that close contacts such as hugging is a direct way of transmitting this disease,” he said.

“So I urge you to think about the vulnerability of your loved ones.”

He said people should consider whether people had had the vaccine – and if so if they had had the second dose – and whether there has been time for it to take effect.

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