The airport has said it is extending the barrierless parking system to ensure that drivers don’t have to wait in queues and pay more for parking

Manchester Evening News readers have spoken out after Manchester Airport announced that it will be introducing a new barrierless parking system to the T2 West Multi-Storey car park – now signposted as P3 – next month. Under the new system drivers will no longer need to pay upon exit as their vehicle will be recognised automatically when they leave.

Drivers will need to pay for their parking by midnight the day after they leave the car park. This can be done either online, by phone or automatically using an Auto Pay account which they can pre-register for.

The barrierless system will be introduced at T2 West Multi-Storey car park on Wednesday March 25, coming into force from one minute past midnight. The airport explained that the system has been introduced as traffic levels at the T2 West Multi-Storey car park have increased since most airlines moved over to Terminal 2 last year.

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By introducing the new system and removing barriers, queues are less likely to build up so people can enter and exit more quickly – and it means they won’t be bumped up to a higher pricing tier.

A Manchester Airport spokesperson said: “We’re introducing a new barrierless parking system at T2 West Multi-Storey car park to make people’s journeys quicker and easier. At the moment there are often queues to exit the car park, which can cause people to stay for longer than they intended and pay more as a result. With no barriers on entry or exit, there will be no need to stop, queue, or use an on-site pay station.

“People will simply drive in and out as normal – vehicles will be recognised automatically. Drivers can then pay for their parking after their visit online, by phone, or automatically using an Auto Pay account. This will save them time and money.

“Barrierless parking is already widely used across Greater Manchester and beyond and many drivers may already be familiar with it. Clear signage and signs and step-by-step guidance will be in place throughout the car park to help drivers use the new system with confidence.”

The system is already in place at various locations across the airport including the Terminal 2 Upper Forecourt Drop Off, Terminal 2 Express Pick Up, Terminal 1 Drop off and Terminal 3 Drop Off. When the system was rolled out in the drop-off and pick-up areas it did prove controversial as many drivers faced fines for failing to pay their parking fees as there were no physical barriers prompting payment. However, it’s worth pointing out that Manchester Airport’s base rate of a £5 drop-off is cheaper than any comparable airport in the UK, while the base pick-up charge is cheaper than most at £6.40 for up to 30mins – in comparison its £10 for 20 minutes at Liverpool Airport.

The airport has emphasised that there is signage in place reminding passengers of the system, and that drivers can pre-register to make payments automatically. According to the airport the system will ultimately save motorists time and money.

Drivers who fail to pay by midnight the following day are warned that a £100.00 Parking Charge Notice will be issued, which will be reduced to £60.00 if paid within 14 days or the total outstanding parking tariff if higher than the reduced parking charge amount.

According to the airport’s website, ‘turn up and park’ prices for the T2 Multi Storey West car park start from £6.40 for 15 minutes, increasing to £31.80 for up to four hours, and £61.40 for 24 hours and each subsequent 24 hours thereafter (or part thereof). The airport does say that there are no plans to increase the tariffs at T2 West Multi Storey.

‘If you can see IKEA you can see the signs’

Following the publication of our article, Manchester Evening News readers shared their thoughts on our Facebook page. The news has divided readers as some point out that the system is clearly explained and there are alternatives available, while others fear that it would be easy to miss making a payment.

One reader, Ray Scott, pointed out that drivers could slip up. He wrote: “Be aware people, they are just waiting for you to make a mistake.” Another Facebook user, Farid Rana commented: “It’s £100 if you forget to pay in time…..thats what they are working on.”

Another Facebook user, Joseph John, said that he chooses to fly from Liverpool Airport instead. He wrote: “Despite living five minutes away from Manchester airport I travel from Liverpool wherever possible as I just cannot bear this airport.

“The “rationale” for this change, easing congestion traffic etc caused by the barriers is marginally believable. However when you then realise the absurdly short payment period and the size of the fine it’s clear what the real goal is here, which is the usual goal of Manchester airport – to shaft and rip off their customers.”

Liverpool Airport does not currently have a barrierless system in place. It’s worth noting that Manchester Airport is introducing the system to ensure that motorists are paying less than they need to by removing the need to wait at the barriers.

However, several readers pointed out that the system is easy to follow and is clearly signposted. Eve Megan McGuire commented: “The signs are massive and bright yellow. If you can see IKEA you can see the signs.”

Others pointed out that there are alternative options. Sue Johnson commented: “Use free drop area simples then no fines.” Imran Khurshid wrote: “Just go by tram.”

For more of today’s top stories, click here.

This week, I wrote a piece about the inordinate amount of villains currently dominating Coronation Street currently, and who could potentially bring about their comeuppance.

It seems as though Corrie viewers are more than ready for a couple of them to pay for their various crimes sooner rather than later.

Evidently unhinged bunny boiler, Jodie Ramsey (Olivia Frances-Brown), grade-A slimeball, Carl Webster (Jonathan Howard), murderer Maggie Driscoll (Pauline McLynn), psychopathic abuser Theo Silverton (James Cartwright) and paedophile Megan Walsh (Beth Nixon) all occupying the Street at the same time is no coincidence.

The ranks of Weatherfield villainy have been bolstered prior to the upcoming flash-forward murder twist, in which one will lose their life, but it seems the front-loading of baddies on the soap has caused some serious fatigue.

Soap viewers flooded the comment section of my original piece (thanks, guys!) with plenty to say about who they’d be happy to say goodbye to, while the poll results show a landslide victory (or loss) for one particular character. Let’s explore, shall we?

The poll results

With 68% of the votes, it’s crystal clear: Corrie viewers are ready to see the back of Theo.

It’s hardly shocking, though. Scenes of Theo abusing his victim, Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce), have been incredibly graphic and raw and have undoubtedly had an enormous impact on viewers.

While Carl and Jodie’s crimes have been heightened and soapy, Maggie’s murder of her husband coming in the form of a flashback and Megan’s abuse of Will Driscoll (Lucas Hodgson-Wale) being largely (and thankfully) of-screen, with star Beth confirming that physical contact between the two is kept to a minimum due to Lucas’ age, Theo’s misdeeds have almost certainly hit viewers the hardest.

Viewers have seen Todd force-fed food, verbally abused, doused in milk, having his face smashed against a mirror, being beaten and generally terrorised, all the while being cut off from his loved ones, George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley), Summer Spellman (Harriet Bibby), Sarah Platt (Tina O’Brien) and Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank), who’s death Theo orchestrated.

The abuse plot has also been running for nearly eight months with absolutely no catharsis or sign of salvation for Todd. In fact, it’s been quite the opposite, with Theo’s abuse becoming increasingly vicious as he ensures that Todd is completely decimated and under his control.

What are Corrie viewers saying about Theo?

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In the comment section, it became incredibly apparent that while Theo is currently Coronation Street’s least favourite villain, fans are ready for a break from the deluge of baddies.

‘This is a bad time for the street, need to get rid of these poor characters and start writing realistic storylines, soap operas shouldn’t be Hollywood style blockbusters, they’re supposed to be ordinary stories about ordinary people,’ said Alan Ashburn, echoing sentiments recently shared by Corrie legend, Sally Ann Matthews, who played Jenny Connor on-and-off between 1986 and 2025.

Wendy Brazier (with a clever pun on the article title) said: ‘Running and ruining the cobbles…’, while Yvonne Thornton pulled no punches: ‘Time they all did one.’

Janna Dawson pleaded for some light to return to the Street: ‘Too many dark souks…let’s lighten the street please’, with Lorraine Rowley echoing her sentiment: ‘They all need gone, the story lines are too dark…get Debbie out of prison, lets have some laughter back, she is a ray of sunshine’.

Nicola Jayne Dickinson agreed: ‘When is it going to become nice and cheerful and funny again?’

Jean de Tourtoulon said: ‘Ruining the cobbles it’s been appalling for years , we loved the funny one liners, now we just get ridiculous dragged out storylines which make no real sense,’

While Patrick Moore added: ‘Get rid of all of them – the constant turnaround of villains is beyond ridiculous. Start concentrating on the regular characters again; you know it’s overkill when you have like 5 big baddies and you even add another one.’

It’s evident that fans are hungry for less baddies and more light-hearted comedy. With one of the five due to meet their maker, will that go some way to address the balance?

MORE: Coronation Street ‘confirms’ who takes down Jodie – and it’s not Shona

MORE: Coronation Street fans spooked as Roy’s customer is served by a ghost – did you spot it?

MORE: Have two major Coronation Street stars accidentally confirmed they’ve left?

The death of Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), on February 22 was immediately framed as the fall of a narco kingpin. Images of gun battles, torched vehicles and retaliatory violence dominated headlines. Commentators spoke of a power vacuum, of fragmentation, of the possible weakening of one of Mexico’s biggest cartels.

It was presented as the removal of a singular, hyper-violent male figure at the apex of a criminal empire. But this framing tells us more about how we imagine organised crime than about how it actually works.

The obsession with kingpins rests on a dramatic understanding of cartel power: a gun in one hand, territory in the other, masculinity performed through brutality. El Mencho embodied that image.

Yet cartels are not sustained by spectacle alone. They endure because someone moves the money, launders the profits, manages the assets, cultivates legitimate fronts and binds networks of loyalty through family. In the case of CJNG, that figure was not only El Mencho. It was also, allegedly, his wife Rosalinda González Valencia.

González has often been described as “La Jefa” (the Spanish feminine form of “the boss”). It’s a label that gestures toward authority while still situating her in relation to her husband. But she was not simply the spouse of a drug lord. She came from the Valencia family, historically linked to Los Cuinis, a network deeply embedded in CJNG’s financial operations.

Authorities have alleged that she oversaw dozens of businesses, property holdings and shell companies tied to the cartel’s laundering apparatus. Arrested multiple times and jailed for five year for money laundering in 2021 (she was released last year for good behaviour), she occupied the grey zone where criminal capital bleeds into the legal economy. If El Mencho represented the cartel’s violent face, González represented its economic spine.

This is where gender matters. Organised crime is routinely portrayed as an arena of exaggerated masculinity. Women appear in these stories as victims, girlfriends, trafficked bodies or glamorous accessories.

Even when they are prosecuted, they are often framed as appendages: “the wife of”, “the daughter of”, “the partner of”. Such language, while often difficult to avoid, obscures the structural reality that many cartels operate through kinship capitalism, where family is not sentimental but strategic.

Within these systems, wives are not incidental. They help keep the business secrets in environments where betrayal is fatal. In patriarchal criminal orders, loyalty is policed through blood ties.

A spouse managing accounts is not a deviation from power but an extension of it. Gender does not exclude women from authority, but rather reshapes how that authority is exercised and perceived.

The sensational truth is this: violence may conquer territory, but finance governs it. And, as the International Crisis Group – a western non-government organisation which aims to prevent conflict – spelled out in a 2023 report, finance in many cartels is deeply gendered.

This does not mean romanticising women’s roles within organised crime. Nor does it suggest emancipation through criminality.

The power reportedly exercised by figures like González tends to be situated within male-dominated hierarchies and violent systems that are also responsible for extreme forms of violence against women, including femicide and sexual exploitation. The same structures that allow elite women to wield financial authority simultaneously reproduce brutal patriarchal control elsewhere. That contradiction is not accidental – it is the way things work.

El Mencho’s death exposes that contradiction. When the state removes a male leader, the assumption is that the organisation will collapse or descend into chaos. But cartels are not merely built around a single dominant figure. They are hybrid enterprises combining coercion, corporate structures and family governance. The removal of the public face does not automatically dismantle the private architecture.

Hidden power structure

The question, then, is not simply who will pick up the gun, but who keeps the books. Who maintains the corporate fronts? Who sustains cross-border financial channels? Who negotiates the transformation of illicit profits into legitimate capital? These are not secondary concerns. They determine whether an organisation fragments or adapts to a leader’s death or imprisonment.

By centring El Mencho alone, media narratives are perpetuating a blindness to the role of women in cartels. They equate power with violence and masculinity with control, leaving the economic and relational dimensions of authority under-analysed.

Yet organised crime studies increasingly demonstrate that durability lies in governance, not gunfire. Governance depends on management, financial oversight, logistical coordination, and embedded social networks. These functions are often feminised – not because women are naturally suited to them, but because patriarchal systems allocate them in ways that render them less conspicuous and therefore less targeted.

There is something unsettling about recognising the strategic authority of cartel wives. It complicates comfortable binaries of victim and perpetrator. It challenges the idea that women in violent systems are either coerced or just marginal figures.

But in Italy, Rafaella D’Alterio reportedly maintained the operational and financial coherence of her Camorra clan following her husband’s death. She did this – not through spectacular violence – but through administrative control, alliance-building, and family networks. Her case, as many others, underscores that durability often lies in governance rather than gunfire.

Decapitation strategies – killing a cartel’s leader – are politically dramatic and symbolically powerful. But they rest on the assumption that criminal organisations are vertically dependent on a single male. If financial governance and kinship networks remain intact, the system may regenerate.

El Mencho’s death is therefore both a rupture and a revelation. It is a rupture in the sense that the figurehead of one of the world’s most powerful cartels has fallen. But it is also a revelation of how narrow our understanding of organised crime remains.

We fixate on the spectacle of masculine violence while overlooking the quieter, gendered infrastructures that sustain it. To understand cartels solely through their kingpins is to misunderstand them. Power in organised crime does not reside only in the man with the gun, but also in the women who, whether publicly acknowledged or not, often stand at the centre of that architecture.

Green Party candidate Hannah Spencer, 34, overturned a large Labour majority to become the new MP for Gorton and Denton last night.

She came ahead of second place Reform UK candidate Matthew Goodwin and Labour’s Angeliki Stogia in third.

Following Ms Spencer’s victory speech, the Bolton Green Party’s Cllr Hanif Alli said: “An iconic and historic speech that will lay the foundations for many generations to come and a new political reset in Britain! 

“What a legend.”

Hannah Spencer celebrating with Green Party leader Zack Polanski (Image: Peter Byrne/PA)

Ms Spencer, a plumber and councillor in Trafford who previously stood as Green Party candidate in the Greater Manchester Mayoral election, won 14,980 votes.

 Reform UK’s candidate Matt Goodwin got 10,578 votes, with Labour’s Angeliki Stogia trailing on 9,364, down from 18,555 in the 2024 general election.

Conservative candidate Charlotte Cadden, a governor of Rumworth School in Ladybridge, received just 706 votes, with the Liberal Democrats’ Jackie Pearcey getting 653.

In her victory speech, Ms Spencer said people were being “bled dry” and were “sick of our hard work making other people rich”.

She said: “I won’t accept this victory tonight without calling out politicians and divisive figures who constantly scapegoat and blame our communities for all the problems in society.”

Ms Spencer jokingly apologised to customers who had made appointments for plumbing jobs.

She said: “I think I might have to cancel the work that you had booked in, because I’m heading to Parliament.”

Second placed Reform UK candidate Mr Goodwin said: “I think the progressives were told how to vote, and I think what you saw was a coalition of Islamists and woke progressives that came together to dominate a constituency.

“And many people in this country will look at Gorton and Denton and be appalled by what they see.”

He also said Reform had “embarrassed Labour in one of their strongest seats”.

The by-election was called after serving Labour MP Andrew Gwynne announced he was standing down citing “health reasons”.

Mr Gwynne had previously been embroiled in a row over a WhatsApp chat where he appeared to joke that he hoped an elderly constituent would die, among other offensive messages.

Labour candidate Ms Stogia had been selected after Andy Burnham was controversially blocked from standing as Labour’s candidate by the party’s national executive committee.

It is understood that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer attended the meeting where Mr Burnham was blocked via video link.

Labour Party chairwoman Anna Turley said the result was “clearly disappointing”.

She said: “By-elections are normally difficult for the party of government, and this election was no different.”

She added that “the politics of anger and easy answers offered by the Greens and Reform” would not tackle the cost-of-living crisis, create opportunities for young people.

A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “Keir Starmer has killed the Labour Party.

“In losing one of Labour’s safest seats, in a constituency that has returned Labour MPs for almost a century, Starmer has shown he no longer commands the support of Labour voters and is now a lame duck leader.”

Cormac Sale has been jailed following the death of Spencer Rothwell-Poole

This is the face of a ketamine-addicted driver who killed a biker in a horror smash before asking paramedics: “Has there been a car crash?”

Cormac Sale, 22, was seen weaving in and out of traffic; overtaking vehicles on the wrong side of the road; and driving at high speeds.

The crash that followed, on December 14, 2024, claimed the life of Spencer Rothwell-Poole.

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Bolton Crown Court heard that at around 9.40pm, Sale drove onto opposite side of Chorley Old Road in Bolton and hit Mr Rothwell-Poole.

The 22-year-old motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. Sale was ‘incoherent and disorientated’ in the wake of the tragedy, asking medics: “Has there been a car crash?”

He was found to be nearly 10 times the legal ketamine limit. Sale has since pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. He has been jailed for 10 years and eight months.

Following this week’s sentencing hearing, police released Sale’s custody image. Detective Constable James Maskrey, said: “This sentencing reflects the devastating consequences of choosing to drive recklessly and whilst under the influence.

“Nothing can undo the loss suffered by Spencer’s family, but it is our hope that this outcome offers some measure of justice. When someone gets behind the wheel under the influence of ketamine, they have no control of their own judgement or body, and even a moment where drivers are dissociated or unaware on the road can be fatal.

“This case is a stark reminder that dangerous driving destroys lives, and I want to reassure the public that our officers remain absolutely committed to tackling dangerous driving and removing those who pose a risk to our roads.”

Jonathan Savage, prosecuting, said numerous witnesses reported concerns about Sale’s driving in the lead up to the crash. He said visibility was poor due to adverse weather. The road was governed by a 40mph limit, he added.

Sale, then 21, was travelling towards Bolton at the time. A driver on the opposite side of the road saw Sale’s Skoda Fabia travelling at high speeds and overtaking cars. She had to swerve to avoid him.

Another driver sounded his horn and someone else had to pull into a kerb. One witness described him as ‘expressionless’.

A couple in front of Sale was forced to pull over after he accelerated behind them. They estimating he was travelling between 60mph and 75mph

CCTV captured the moment Sale hit Mr Rothwell-Poole, who was riding his Yamaha motorbike appropriately.

“The defendant crossed onto the opposite side of the carriageway causing the collision,” Mr Savage told the court. “Spencer was thrown from his motorbike.”

Despite the efforts of members of the public and paramedics at the scene, Mr Rothwell-Poole died from his injuries. A post mortem concluded he sustained multiple injuries consistent with a high-speed collision.

Sale was assessed at the roadside. He was disorientated and unable to answer questions. He claimed he had been driving at 30mph.

Sale later told officers he was addicted to ketamine and took three-and-a-half grams of the drug daily. The court heard he was not ensured at the time of the crash. Due to payment issues, his policy had been cancelled two days earlier.

Jailing Cormac – of Ina Avenue, Bolton – for 10 years and eight months, Judge Jon Close said: “You were in no condition to be driving.

“I have read and heard the moving and powerful victim impact statements from Mr Rothwell-Poole’s father and brother. They speak of their unbearable loss, endless pain and ruin you left in your wake and the suffered that will never end.

“You have taken from them more than you can ever hope to realise. Your selfish actions took the life of a good man who was very much loved. I suspect you will, as you should, carry the weight of this for the rest of your life.”

Sale was banned from driving for 12 years and one month.

I always wanted to have a rewarding career, but was never sure what I wanted to do. I worked as a kitchen assistant in a hospital for a few years, before forging an administration and management career. I made a couple of internal moves but by the time I turned 30, I felt unhappy in my job. I made one final move, becoming a paediatric medical secretaries’ manager, but remained unfulfilled. I needed more of a challenge.

Although I’d gained lots of experience, I felt that my lack of formal education was holding me back from further career progression. I began looking at my options. I always knew about BAE Systems, as a well-respected global employer, with a site local to me. However, I had the perception that the work was almost exclusively engineering and not within my reach. It felt like a far-off dream.

Once I started researching, I realised there are opportunities beyond engineering and a degree-level apprenticeship seemed a great way to retrain and change careers.

My degree apprenticeship with BAE Systems has been far more than just a career move – it’s helped me to gain confidence and develop my skills. I’ve also had the opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge projects like next generation military aircraft within FalconWorks, BAE Systems’ advanced research and technology development business.

What’s more, I’ve found the culture to be inclusive and supportive. Alongside my day job, I’ve become an ethics officer and a STEM ambassador. I’ve delivered STEM workshops and given talks to senior leaders, something I never thought I could do! My apprenticeship has brought out the best in me and I feel I’m building a well-rounded version of myself.

Balancing my work, education and family life can be difficult at times but I’m lucky to have a strong support network at home and at work. I have two young children and with the flexible working that BAE Systems offers, I’ve been able to attend the sports days and plays I previously had to miss. I’ve finally found a healthy work / life balance.

Overall, my apprenticeship is going great. I’ve won internal awards for my contribution to the team, my work in leading a STEM engagement day and my role in supporting the Royal International Air Tattoo.

If you’re considering an apprenticeship, know that there are endless opportunities within the business to progress, thanks to the knowledge and experience you’ll gain from the scheme. The apprenticeship will challenge you, but every stage is an opportunity to learn and grow. Embrace feedback and stay curious,  Most importantly, believe in yourself; you’re capable of more than you think.

To find out more visit: https://careers.baesystems.com/locations/uk/apprentices

Apprenticeship application window closes on 28th February.

Many readers welcomed the proposals saying they had already been successful abroad, while others questioned the long-term benefits of a levy on overnight stays in the county.

It comes as a national consultation into visitor levies closed last Wednesday (February 18).

The reaction also follows the county’s Labour mayor, David Skaith, clashing with North Yorkshire’s Conservative MPs who said the levy is “simply wrong” and “should not be taken forward”.

Mr Skaith has said a levy on overnight stays in the area could raise up to £52 million for York and North Yorkshire and would be a “total gamechanger for our region”.

Reacting to the proposals on The Press’ Facebook page, Jackie Smith said she was “all for it”. “If the visitors are unable to pay a small amount of a visitor charge then they are unlikely to be able to afford to put much in the coffers of local businesses,” Jackie said. “The upkeep of a city like York is a huge cost to the local council tax payers so the visitors should contribute to it.”

Dave Scott agreed, saying he was a “frequent tourist to York and happy to pay a small amount to support this most beautiful of cities”.

Several readers compared the proposals to levies on overnight stays which have already been introduced in popular European tourist cities such as Paris, Lisbon and Barcelona.

“They do it abroad, why not here?” asked Howard Carlyle.

‘Far too many taxes as it is!’

Other commenters, however, said the levy may stop tourists from visiting the area.

They said a levy in York and North Yorkshire could also result in more areas of the UK introducing similar proposals, which would hit residents holidaying elsewhere in Britain.

“What people don’t get is that when residents of York go for overnight stays elsewhere in the UK they’ll be hit with the same tax eventually,” Mark Lister said.

Commenters also raised concern at the possibility of the levy increasing yearly.

“Once implemented, tourist tax will increase every year,” Trev Jenkins said. “Far too many taxes as it is!”

Meanwhile, Conservative MPs in the county called for tighter measures to ensure that  revenue raised from the levy would be spent in the local area – a view shared by some commenters.

“I think it’s a great idea if the funds raised from a tourist tax are ringfenced with annual reports published of how much was raised and how the money has been spent in the city,” Adie Eastwood said. “Otherwise it’s just another stealth tax loaded onto UK residents and the money just disappears into the ether.”

“I am in favour of a tourist tax as long as it goes towards maintaining buildings and infrastructure that attract visitors to the county versus going into a general fund,” added Press reader ‘Not the same’, writing on the newspaper’s website.