High Court rules against hospitality bosses on indoor closures
Hospitality bosses have lost their legal battle for a quicker reopening of indoor hospitality in England.
Punch Taverns founder Hugh Osmond and Sacha Lord, the night-time economy adviser for Greater Manchester, brought a case against the government challenging the current rules.
Lord and Osmond said there was no justification or scientific bias for pubs and restaurants to be kept closed for five weeks, while retailers have been allowed to serve customers indoors since 12 April.
The High Court ruled in favour of the government, to keep indoor hospitality closed, just two weeks before it reopens on 17 May.
“While this fight has always been an uphill battle… we are pleased that the case has shone a light on the hospitality sector and the unfair and unequal guidance within the recovery roadmap, Lord said.
“Despite the outcome, we will continue to hold the government to account and demand evidence-based decisions, rather than those drafted without detailed analysis or based on bias or whim.”
Mr Justice Julian Knowles dismissed the call for a judicial review as “academic” given it was unlikely to take place before the reopening date.
““This case is not ‘academic’ for an industry that is losing £200m every day it remains closed, for the over three million people who work in our industry, or for the tens of thousands of businesses, suppliers, landlords and contractors forced into bankruptcy by government measures,” Osmond said.
The hospitality industry has been one of the worst affected industries during the pandemic. Trade body UK Hospitality recently warned that approximately £2bn in rent is owed by hospitality firms with 40 per cent currently negotiating over unpaid rent with landlords.
The court’s decision came just hours before a SAGE report emerged, which found ministers had been advised “eating out in any food outlet or restaurant was not associated with increased odds” of catching Covid.