Covid: Manchester Mayor calls for ‘urgent review’ of 10pm closures

The Mayor of Greater Manchester has called for an “urgent review” of the 10pm closing times for pubs and restaurants.

Andy Burnham said that meant people were gathering at houses and supermarkets that were “packed to the rafters” once the bars closed.

“My instinct is that this curfew is doing more harm than good,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today program.

He said: “Create an incentive for people to meet on the street or, more likely, at home.”

Under the new restrictions, which went into effect on Thursday, all pubs, bars and restaurants in England must provide table service only and must close by 10 p.m.

Burnham said the crowd gathered after the closures was “the opposite of what local restrictions are trying to do.”

“I think there should be an urgent review of the emerging evidence from police forces across the country,” he added.

He suggested that one option might be to impose a 9 p.m. cap on alcohol sales in stores to avoid the rush to remove licenses after pubs close.

Burnham has also called for more financial support for areas under tighter restrictions and greater powers for local areas to close businesses that do not follow the rules.

John Apter, national president of the Police Federation, said: “My colleagues will do everything they can to encourage and coerce people to keep going, but it is really difficult.

“All you need is a hostile group to turn against those officers and the resources for that city center are swallowed up to deal with that incident.”

Health Minister Helen Whately said the government was keeping an “open mind” about the new regulations.