Fury as academic tells BBC's Radio 4 programme that Manchester, Leeds and York are not in the North

An academic has sparked fury after telling a BBC radio show that Manchester, Leeds and York are not in the North of England.

Mark Tewdwr-Jones, an academic at Newcastle University, was appearing on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Friday to discuss the North–South divide.

The professor prompted a furore after claiming that London's "sphere of influence" takes up more than half the country.

Drawing a pink line on a map, he outlined where he believed the North began and said Manchester, Leeds and York did not make the cut.

"There are several ways you could define a northern region, but perhaps the most pertinent question is 'where does London end?'" he said.

"My map is a northern area defined as being 'not London', where London's sphere of influence extends over most of the country, determined by two-hour commuting patterns to London, which is becoming the norm."

Mr Tewdwr-Jones’ logic cast the peak district as a southern region alongside Sheffield and Doncaster.

However Grantham, Lincoln, Scunthorpe and Hull were all considered to be in the North.

The map also put most of Wales in the North but claimed that Cardiff and Newport were in the South.

Many people were outraged by Professor Tewdwr-Jones’ map.

One person described it as a “farce” writing: “Leeds and Manchester are two of the most northern cities for (sic) northern culture.”

Others claimed that Sheffield should have been included as it is the “city of steel.”

Abdi Duale claimed that anything above Oxfordshire was the North.

Whereas many other people posted their own maps detailing where they thought the North began.

Gill Paterson said that anything below Scotland was the South.

A lot of people insisted that the Midlands should be clearly marked on a map when placing cities in the North or South.

Many people claimed that the beginning of the North could not be marked on a map and said that accents were the true indicator of where the North began.

The Radio 4 Today programme was celebrating the opening of the Great Exhibition of the North, a programme of exhibitions culminating in the Great North Run from Newcastle to the North Sea in September.