Anger grows at ‘idiotic’ 10pm curfew as video shows FIFTY drinkers dancing in street after pubs kicked them out
ANGER is growing at Boris Johnson's 'idiotic' boozing curfew as a crowd of FIFTY drinkers were recorded dancing in the street after being kicked out of pubs in Birmingham.
Critics say the measure is doing 'more harm than good' as boozers were videoed partying to a brass band after the strict new measures see thousands of people turned out of bars at the same time.
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Official data shows that pubs and restaurants accounted for less than three per cent of coronavirus infections in the week before the curfew was introduced.
Schools and care homes were responsible for more than two thirds of all positive tests, weekly figures from Public Health England have revealed.
Now Dr Flavio Toxvaerd, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Cambridge, blasted the consequences of the new rule as "completely predictable" - and says pubs should be open for longer, with staggered leaving times.
Writing on Twitter, he said: "Create a bottleneck and people will crowd together... could have learned this from other countries."
And Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, says the drinking deadline is pushing crowds into supermarkets and off-licences for more alcohol to drink on the streets.
Mr Burnham has called for a 9pm curfew on buying all booze to stop house parties - and said: "Perhaps if there was a 9pm curfew on sale of alcohol in supermarkets and shops, that would prevent the rush to shops once the pubs have closed."
But Downing Street has rejected calls to immediately review the 10pm curfew.
Asked if the restriction would be reconsidered, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "No. I would obviously say we keep all of our social distancing measures under review but no there's nothing in that regard."
The spokesman said there are existing rules around how off-licences serve the public during the pandemic when asked about concerns of them being busy after the curfew time.
And he suggested changing the time to allow more flexibility for a staggering of exit times from pubs was not being considered.
He said: "I'm not aware of anything specific in that regard. The decision to reduce time to 10pm was based on the fact it had been in operation in the local lockdown areas and had been considered to strike the right balance."
It comes after shambolic scenes at the weekend as boozy gangs gathered in central London, Leeds, Newcastle and Bristol.
After last orders and pub doors closed on Saturday, shocking footage and pictures captured large groups mingling throughout the night, and not sticking to social distancing.
Queues of dozy Brits keen to carry on partying were seen waiting to go into shops and newsagents still selling booze until 11pm, before drinking on the street.
And new footage from Moseley in Birmingham shows dancers gathering in close to listen to a brass band.
"We finished around 9.45pm, came out and as we were waiting for our Uber home, we heard a brass band start playing music.
"Within seconds there were more than 50 people gathered, dancing as if they were in a nightclub pre-Covid.
"It’s like some sort of sick experiment to see if you can incubate a second wave."
Piers Morgan branded the scenes in London a "farce".
Meanwhile, Sacha Lord, night-time economy adviser for Greater Manchester, said the curfew was "ill-thought-out".
He wrote on Twitter: "It's very clear, across the UK, that this ill-thought-out 10pm curfew has pushed everyone out of venues with socially distanced measures, into the streets, into off-licences, supermarkets, overcrowded public transport and house parties.
Beer pressure
What are the new rules for pubs, bars and restaurants?
A 10pm curfew for all pubs and hospitality venues across England came in from September 24.
The measure came about three months after restaurants and pubs were allowed to reopen after the coronavirus lockdown.
Boris Johnson said the new 10pm curfew means physically "closing and not just calling for last orders".
Businesses selling food or drink must be closed between 10pm and 5am.
The time that pubs are actually open after 5am to serve customers will depend on their individual premises licence.
"Every operator predicted this. Shambolic."
The curfew hasn't been backed by Sage - the panel of scientific experts chaired by Sir Patrick Vallance.
Members of the organisation are said to be increasingly frustrated that they are being overruled - while still being blamed for harsher measures.
And scientists are reportedly calling on the Government to release their advice so the public know they had no part in the curfew.
The British Beer and Pub Association, which represents brewers and pubs across the UK, have urged ministers to review the curfew,
CEO Emma McClarkin described the curfew as "another devastating blow to the beer and pub sector".
She said: "As we have seen this weekend, the hard 10pm curfew has led to the consequence of customers leaving venues and filling the streets en masse.
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"We would like to see the hard 10pm reviewed to allow us flexibility on doors closing time and allow customers to stagger their exits.
"Having not been consulted by the Government on the announcements last week, we do stand ready to work with the Government to find the safest and most practical ways to tackle coronavirus."