Lockdown loopholes a family business

A FINANCIAL adviser has paid £6 to register as a business so he can employ his family to avoid the rule of six restrictions.

Fenn Settle, 28, registered a consultancy business under his name so he could exploit exemptions that mean that gatherings for work are permitted even under the highest tier restrictions.

It is the latest loophole to emerge after business lunches were found to be exempt from the ban on meeting indoors in hospitality venues.

It emerged yesterday that private clubs in Tier 3 areas could also avoid having to serve a “substantial” meal in order to sell alcohol due to the wording of their premises certificates. Guidance on the Association of Conservative Clubs’ website explained that members own the alcohol so it is not sold to them but “supplied”.

Mr Settle, from Shipley, W Yorks, said he was inspired to find a loophole after he was not allowed to see his 84-yearold grandfather, Peter Williams, during the two months before his death.

He registered Fenn Settle Ltd with Companies House and could “hire” family and friends on zero-hours contracts and invite them for gatherings at home, the business’s registered address, which would be exempt from lockdown laws.

A Government spokesman said Boris Johnson “has been clear of his ambition to ensure that people may celebrate Christmas as a family. Our best chance of defeating the virus and getting back to some sort of normal, is for everyone to act responsibly, continue to do their bit, and follow the guidance. We have been clear this means individuals from different households currently cannot meet indoors in those areas under Tier 2 and Tier 3 restrictions.”