Manchester City Council is threatening Prime Minister Gordon Brown with legal action if he opts to scrap plans for a super-casino. Sir Howard Bernstein, the council's chief executive, said that he is looking at ways to protect Manchester's interests, after refusing to rule out taking the government to court.

Bernstein went on to say that the team behind the current government review had not taken up his offer to visit the site of the super-casino development in Beswick.

Councillor Simon Ashley said "The evidence is clear that there is no other option for the site which could deliver anything like the same scale of jobs and investment.

"On the basis of this evidence we fully expect the regional casino to be approved."