Time ( honourable) gentlemen please

THE SHUTTERS have come down on bars across the House of Commons as elected Members of Parliament are forced to undergo a ban on serving alcohol for the ‘ foreseeable future’.

Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle called time for the Right Honourable Gentlemen and Ladies as Covid- 19 restrictions get tougher across the UK – even though the ‘ workplace canteens’ are legally exempt from England’s 22.00 coronavirus closing time.

Sir Lindsay acted to bring the house ‘ in line’ with the toughest measures in areas of England and restrictions introduced across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; saying MPs represented different constituencies, including those where pubs had been forced to close.

Closing time had earlier been set at 22.00 in the Commons’ bars but an official inquiry found that MPs were breaking the Covid curfew and drinking late into the night in the Smoking Room bar.

The Mail on Sunday accused Health Secretary Matt Hancock of returning to the bar after a key vote to joke with colleagues and enjoy a glass of wine – a House of Commons own label cabernet sauvignon according to a Tory whistle blower.

According to the newspaper, Mr Hancock’s office repeatedly denied he was in the bar after closing time on the night in question.

The MP who led the probe into drinking after hours, said it would have been wrong and ‘ invidious’ to ask bar staff who was present. Obviously, they were from different households and possibly in groups larger than six. Early doors at the bar has also led to short tempers in the House – one leading member of the Labour Party was forced to apologise after calling an opponent ‘ scum’… hardly ladylike behaviour.

Spare a thought then for the 12 members of a football team who claimed to be from the same household when they went into a South Tyneside pub and ‘ concerned’ and ‘ unconvinced’ staff called the boys in blue – who arrived to wield a red card.

The area is in Tier 2, where meeting people from other households indoors is not allowed. The team were each handed a £ 200 fine (£ 100 if paid within 14 days) for a ‘ flagrant’ breach of the rules to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Leaves a bitter taste in not so ‘ ale’ and hearty Britain.

And police across the country have denied launching a recruiting drive to get publicans to ask customers for addresses and photo ID to ensure they were not from different households.

Police forces said they had attempted to keep licensees up to date with changing Covid regulations; but stressed responsibility remained with customers rather than overworked pub staff being asked to turn super snoopers.

Police chiefs underlined they only want officers to act when there are significant breaches of the rules. They are, hopefully, getting back to catching bad people like burglars – they are the masked bandits in striped shirts carrying a bag marked ‘ swag’.

Flybe set for take- off again

The airline industry has taken quite a knock during the pandemic, but it seems regional carrier Flybe is about to spread its wings and fly again.

New owner Thyme Opco, controlled by a hedge fund, is looking to rescue the airline, which before it collapsed in March carried eight million passengers a year and was a big player for many of the UK’s smaller airports; employing around 2,200 people.

It’s all down to the regulators and apparently, there are questions over the validity of the airline’s operating licence, but the new owner is acquiring the brand, intellectual property, stock and equipment – lonely Flybe planes remain on the ground at a number of airports.

A spokesman said while looking to take off with a slimmed down operation, the well- known brand was once the largest regional carrier within the EU and would create air industry jobs, restore connectivity, and help boost the economy.

Hedge fund Cyrus Capital is behind the new owner, holding a controlling interest in the company. It was an existing shareholder in Flybe along with Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic. It also has a stake in the Co- operative Bank in the UK.

Flybe was able to get passengers around the country quicker than by train and enjoyed an NHS contract to fly patients between the Isle of Man and the mainland.

The pilots’ union Balpa has welcomed the news and so have passengers looking to reach remoter parts of the UK. Flybe once offered 2,300 flights a week between 43 different local hubs.

When the fun stops

Online betting giant Betfred is embroiled in a legal battle after refusing to honour the £ 1.7m win chalked up by 53year- old Andy Green when he hit a winning streak.

The Lincolnshire gambler played a game back in January 2018 – the Betfred Frankie Dettori Magic Seven Blackjack – on his phone and saw his account credited with the princely sum of £ 1,722,923.54 but has yet to crack open the champagne, which he said: ‘ remains on ice’.

Betfred maintains there was a software glitch and its ‘ complicated’ 43 pages of terms and conditions means it can withhold the winnings. They instead offered a goodwill payment of £ 30,000 – later increased to £ 60,000 – in a bid to make the problem go away but both were rejected.

Mr Green has taken the matter to the High Court in a bid to end the ‘ nightmare’ and finally pocket his prize. His lawyers are confident they are on to a winner as they seek to trump the gambling company.

Walt now ' woke' at Disney

And, finally, classic Walt Disney cartoon films are being screened with a content advisory warning that has Mouseketeers wondering if the company’s streaming service is taking the mickey.

Family favourites like Dumbo, Peter Pan, Jungle Book, and The Aristocats now flash up warnings about ‘ negative depictions’ of racial stereotypes and the ‘ mistreatment of people and cultures’.

It also tells viewers: “We want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together.”

The age of innocence is over as the politically correct members of the new model army put reels of film under the microscope. When the fun stops…