Worried by images of drinkers in England

ONE of the Scottish Government’s chief medical advisers said he is worried by images showing crowds of drinkers “spilling out into the street” in England over the weekend.

Professor Jason Leitch, the national clinical director, admitted he was “worried” by the images, after bars and restaurants were allowed to reopen to the public south of the border.

One picture from the Soho area of London showed streets packed with revellers with no social distancing.

Speaking today, Prof Leitch said he was comfortable with people being in a “regulated environment”, where they will have to give some personal details to the business owner before being allowed to enter.

He added: “I am uncomfortable with hospitality just spilling out into the street with people drinking and socialising.”

Commenting on the scenes south of the border, Prof Leitch said: “They worried me, and you would expect that to be true, just as pictures of Bournemouth beach worried me.”

Pictures from the seaside town showed thousands of people had flocked there following an easing of lockdown restrictions, prompting the local council and police force to declare a major incident in the area on June 25.

When asked if social distancing will be policed in Scotland when the weekend comes, Prof Leitch said: “I hope so. I hope a combination of business owners, the security that these businesses often employ and enforcement from Police Scotland will be enough to help us manage that, as well as peer group policing.”

Professor Leitch