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Hospitality trade bodies demand 10pm Covid curfew be reviewed every three weeks

A crowd of people gather in the Bristol city centre after the 10pm curfew, leading to the early closing of pubs and bars. Last weekend was the first to feature the curfew - Simon Chapman/LNP/Simon Chapman/LNP
A crowd of people gather in the Bristol city centre after the 10pm curfew, leading to the early closing of pubs and bars. Last weekend was the first to feature the curfew - Simon Chapman/LNP/Simon Chapman/LNP
Coronavirus Article Bar with counter
Coronavirus Article Bar with counter

A letter to Boris Johnson, signed by 100 businesses including JD Wetherspoon and Burger King, has demanded that the 10pm curfew on pubs, bars and restaurants be reviewed every three weeks.

Three trade bodies said the latest restrictions had "made this fight to survive even harder" and that the 10pm cut-off had "removed key trading hours for all of us, vital to our survival, removing whole shifts from food-led businesses".

The letter, signed by the British Beer and Pub Association, UK Hospitality, and the British Institute of Innkeeping, warned that the new rules also created "pinch points" for public transport, leading to "large groups congregating elsewhere in a manner likely to increase Covid-related health risks".

The signatories added that they are "not against" ways to tackle the spread of the virus, but called for a "pragmatic and flexible approach" to be adopted by central and local government.

"A commitment must be made to review the appropriateness of all these measures at least every three weeks," they said. "The 10pm curfew should be removed if demonstrably not working as intended, or adjusted to provide for gradual dispersal and avoid the unintended consequences for the wider sector including cultural activities now impacted."

The letter, whose signatories also included Caffe Nero, PizzaExpress and Tortilla, added that the hospitality sector needed "additional and urgent support in order to survive the bleakest of winters".

"Our sector has been hit incredibly hard by the pandemic and many businesses have already sadly closed forever, with the remainder fighting for survival," it said.

It also cautioned that the package announced by Rishi Sunak did not "go nearly far enough for our imperiled sector" and that the Job Support Scheme "as it stands" would not stop "hundreds of thousands" of redundancies across the sector.

"The simple truth is that, without an immediate review of the support on offer to pubs, restaurants and wider hospitality businesses, many will be lost for years to come," it said. "The damage to communities will be immeasurable, long-term, and ultimately extremely costly for Government."

Should the gov scrap 10 pm curfew
Should the gov scrap 10 pm curfew

Another open letter to the Prime Minister, signed by the Independent Family Brewers of Britain, accused the Government of implementing "rapidly draconian new rules on pubs" that threatened "their role in their communities and the destruction of the employment that they provide".