BILLIONS of pounds of post-Brexit funding for some of the UK's poorest regions should be controlled by the areas that receive it, a cross-party group of local political leaders and businesses have demanded.

The mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has joined forces with the mayors of three other northern areas to call on the Government to devolve the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF), which is to fund projects currently backed financially by the EU after the UK leaves, away from Westminster.

Mr Burnham, together with Steve Rotheram and Dan Jarvis, Labour mayors in Liverpool and Sheffield, joined forces with the Tory mayor of the Tees Valley, Ben Houchen, to demand control of a pot of cash they say is worth £2.4 billion a year.

They argue that the Brexit idea for the UK to "take back control" must mean "substantial devolution of power and resources out of Westminster to the English regions".

They said that while the UK's employment rate has recently hit a record high and some cities are thriving, "some places remain locked out of this success story".

Mr Houchen said that Brexit must not mean "another Whitehall power grab".