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Pubs face “devastation” after they were barred from proposals to allow the hotel industry to reopen in July, fueling concerns that Covid-19 would drive out nearly half.
In a speech outlining his roadmap to ease the blockade, Boris Johnson said that “at least part of the hotel industry” could be reopened in two months, provided the rules of social distancing can be enforced.
But Whitehall sources said this would apply only to cafes and restaurants with outdoor space, and that England’s pubs should remain closed until August and possibly beyond.
The exception is likely to intensify fears for the future in an industry that is already struggling with long-term decline.
Emma McClarkin The executive director of the British Association of Beers and Pubs (BBPA) said: “The industry was looking for a ray of hope today … but it seems we have more weeks of uncertainty ahead.
“With insufficient clarity on when pubs will reopen, our industry remains in limbo and faces severe uncertainty and financial devastation. If the government plans to keep the pubs closed until the final launch phase, as rumored, this would make the first and last pubs out of closure. “
She called for specific financial support for the pubs from the government, after 40% of BBPA members said they could close if they didn’t get something by September.
The industry is also under the control of a mounting civil war, as publicans who rent their premises from pub companies accuse companies of threatening their survival by refusing to cancel rent payments.
Tim Martin, founder and president of JD Wetherspoon, has minimized the risk of Covid-19 transmission in bars.
But he said he would accept that pubs remain closed longer than other parts of the hotel sector.
“It is fair enough if the government is” following the science “and there is evidence that pubs are riskier environments than other places,” he said. “I really don’t know the pub statistics and there may not be any available.”
