Conservative conference: Anti-Tory banner with hanging effigies condemned by Greater Manchester mayor

The mayor of Greater Manchester has condemned an "unacceptable" banner adorned with hanging effigies that blamed the Conservatives for 130,000 deaths.

As delegates arrived for the annual Tory conference in Manchester, protesters hung a banner from a bridge in Salford saying: "130,000 killed under Tory rule, time to level the playing field".

Andy Burnham, a former Labour cabinet minister and now mayor, said the sign was "completely unacceptable" and it was being removed.

Tory councillor Kerry Boyd spotted the offensive sign in Peel Park, on the river Irwell, as she went for a pre-conference run.

Ms Boyd, a councillor on Thanet District Council in Kent, said: "Never have I felt more apprehensive than seeing this in my morning run pre CPC19.

"Does this classify as death/terrorist threat? Utterly vile."

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