Covid: Bristol MP says pubs feel ‘blamed’

Manager of The Duke Of York pub in St Werburghs, Kate Stanley-Dunn said: "I think it’s absolutely insane to turf out hundreds of drunk people, into city centres"

An MP says pubs feel wrongly "blamed" for a rise in Covid-19 due to the new 22:00 GMT curfew.

In a letter to Parliament Bristol West MP Thangam Debbonaire says venues should have been consulted "before a decision was made" after a spike in cases to curb the virus spread.

The letter follows a weekend of Bristol-wide #cancelthecurfew protests.

During Prime Minister's Questions Boris Johnson said the government was making "necessary" decisions.

He said: "We are taking the tough decisions necessary, imposing restrictions locally and nationally, to fight the virus."

Labour MP Ms Debbonaire said: “Businesses feel blamed and at the very least the hospitality industry needs to be consulted by the government about how to manage this 10pm curfew.

“We also need to see the evidence behind the decision.

“Give us a rapid transparent review of all of the evidence and report back to Parliament so that we can scrutinise that review.”

Bristol West MP Thangam Debbonaire sent a letter to the government supporting concerns from independent pubs, bars and restaurants in Bristol.

Kate Stanley-Dunn, manager of the Duke Of York pub in St Werburghs, said she did not feel the curfew was "based on science".

She said: “Hospitality is taking the flak for the virus spread when in fact, if pubs are doing things properly, they are probably one of the safest places to be.”

Bristol Conservative mayoral candidate Samuel Williams said while this was a difficult time, "on balance it’s the right thing”.

'Saving lives'

He said: “There will always be a trade off, if the priority is saving lives, there will be a trade off for the economy, if the focus is on the economy there will be a trade off for saving lives.”

Brendan Murphy, co-founder of Bristol Association of Restaurants, Bars and Independent Establishments, organised the national #cancelthecurfew campaign.

He said: “Venues are safer than people being on the street, especially all at the same time.

“We already estimated 6,000 lost jobs in Bristol by the end of furlough, the curfew could easily double this figure.”