The boss of pub chain JD Wetherspoon has lashed out at new coronavirus restrictions brought in by the government, lamenting the impact they will have on his business.
Tim Martin said Plan B restrictions – announced last week in response to the Omicron variant – amounted to “lockdown by stealth”.
He said: “The repeated warnings and calls for restrictions, mainly from SAGE members and academics, combined with arbitrary changes of direction from the government, invariably at short notice, affect customer sentiment and trade.
“In effect, the country appears to be heading towards a lockdown by stealth.”
‘No outbreaks’
Boris Johnson last week introduced widespread mandatory mask wearing and guidance instructing people to work from home if they can.
While pubs and hospitality venues are allowed to remain open, many businesses are facing a sharp drop-off in trade as people voluntarily reduce their social contacts for fear of catching the Omicron variant before Christmas.
Spoons said caution among customers was already hitting margins, with the company warning it was likely to make a loss – or at best be “marginally profitable” when it reports half-year resutls.
Martin said: “The company will continue to concentrate on providing high standards of service, reasonable prices and regular, small upgrades to the business.”
The Spoons boss, a constant critic of Covid restrictions, added: “There have been no outbreaks, as defined by the health authorities, of Covid-19 among customers in Wetherspoon pubs.
“The typical British pub, contrary to received opinion in academia, is usually a bastion of social distancing.”
Schools suffering
Meanwhile schools are seeing “very severe low attendance” among pupils and teachers ahead of the Christmas break as the Omicron variant spreads across the country, a headteachers’ union has warned.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said one school has had around 25 per cent of its staff off for three weeks amid Covid-19.
His comments come amid reports that some schools and colleges have switched to remote lessons in the run-up to Christmas while some parents are choosing to keep their children off school due to concerns.
Barton told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “Listening to the speculation and the news, and certainly the emails I’ve been getting from members, you are getting some pockets of very severe low attendance, partly young people, partly staff.
“One (school) has emailed me this morning saying 25 per cent of staff have been off for three weeks, you can imagine if you can’t then get supply teachers that becomes very difficult to maintain the quality of education.”
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