Pub boss calls for lifting of restrictions
Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin has urged the UK Government to reopen pubs at the same time as non-essential shops, warning that the industry is “on its knees” and needs to reopen to save jobs.
Mr Martin said pubs make a massive contribution to the economy, with Wetherspoon alone paying about £10 of tax for every pound of profit it makes.
He said: “In the last 10 years Wetherspoon has generated £6.1 billion of taxes, something we are very proud of.
“In the financial year to July 2019, before the pandemic, Wetherspoon, its customers and employees generated £764 million of taxes – £1 in every thousand collected by the UK Government.
“Many people have correctly pointed out that the three lockdowns of the last year have been a disaster for the hospitality, retail, arts and entertainment
industries, but our calculations show that they have been an even bigger disaster for public finances.
“The taxes paid by Wetherspoon are mirrored by thousands of companies which have been annihilated by lockdowns.
“As a result, government finances have been annihilated even more.”
Mr Martin said Wetherspoon has registered more than 50 million customer visits to its pubs, using the Test and Trace system, without a single outbreak of Covid-19, as defined by the health authorities.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has ordered Scottish football to “get your house in order” after a further alleged breach of Covid-19 rules.
Rangers announced on Sunday that the club was launching an internal investigation into a possible breach of lockdown, without giving details about the incident or who was involved.
It is believed the announcement relates to allegations that members of the squad went to a party in Glasgow, which resulted in ten people being issued with fixed penalty notices by Police Scotland.
Asked about the incident at the coronavirus daily briefing on Monday, Ms Sturgeon
said it took all her power “not to use expletives.“i tell you, sometimes I feel it’s taking all my power not to stand here and use expletives whenever I get asked about football again,” Ms Sturgeon said.
“I’ve not been given all the details of the Rangers incident yet, no doubt that will happen.”