Hospitality bosses LOSE High Court legal challenge to speed up return of indoor dining in England


Hospitality chiefs reacted with fury today as the High Court threw out a legal bid to allow them to welcome customers indoors before May 17 in response to plummeting Covid infections and deaths in the UK.

Lawyers for Punch Taverns founder Hugh Osmond and Greater Manchester night-time economy adviser Sacha Lord had claimed there was no scientific justification for delaying the return of indoor hospitality while letting non-essential shops reopen.

However last night they hit out, saying judges had rejected their claim against Health Secretary Matt Hancock on the grounds that it was ‘academic’ as there wasn’t time for the court to hear it before May 17.

That is the date from which the next stage of easing England’s coronavirus restrictions is planned under the Government’s road map out of lockdown.

They also complained that a report by the Government’s advisory committee, Sage, on the risks of catching Covid from going to a restaurant or pub hadn’t been disclosed to them before its publication last Friday.

‘This case is not ‘academic’ for an industry that is losing £200million 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,’ Mr Osmond said.

Lawyers for Punch Taverns founder Hugh Osmond (pictured) and Greater Manchester night-time economy adviser Sacha Lord had claimed there was no scientific justification for delaying the return of indoor hospitality while letting non-essential shops reopen.

Lawyers for Punch Taverns founder Hugh Osmond and Greater Manchester night-time economy adviser Sacha Lord had claimed there was no scientific justification for delaying the return of indoor hospitality while letting non-essential shops reopen.

Judges ruled against lawyers for Punch Taverns founder Hugh Osmond (left) and Greater Manchester night-time economy adviser Sacha Lord (right) had claimed there was no scientific justification for delaying the return of indoor hospitality

Pubs and restaurants have been desperate to reopen but have only been able to welcome guests outside so far despite the UK's plunging infection rate

Pubs and restaurants have been desperate to reopen but have only been able to welcome guests outside so far despite the UK’s plunging infection rate

‘Our legal action gave them a fighting chance yet once again in 2021, the strong arm of the state has come crushing down on hope and aspiration.’ Calling for the reopening of indoor hospitality to be brought forward based on the Sage findings in order to ‘capitalise on the NHS’s brilliant vaccination rollout’, Mr Osmond said it was time to ‘follow the data rather than arbitary dates based on outdated models’.

Judges had rejected their claim against Health Secretary Matt Hancock (pictured in Middlesbrough last week) on the grounds that it was 'academic' as there wasn't time for the court to hear it before May 17

Judges had rejected their claim against Health Secretary Matt Hancock (pictured in Middlesbrough last week) on the grounds that it was ‘academic’ as there wasn’t time for the court to hear it before May 17

Mr Lord added: ‘While this fight has always been an uphill battle, made harder by the Government’s delaying tactics and refusal to mediate, we are pleased that the case has shone a light on the hospitality sector and the unfair and unequal guidance within the recovery roadmap.’ 

He claimed credit for the pairs’ legal challenges for the decision not to return to the unpopular ‘substantial meal’ rule or 10pm curfew following the latest lockdown which he said had ‘undoubtedly saved many jobs throughout the industry’.

The undated Sage report published last Friday found there had been 343 Covid outbreaks in hospitality settings since the start of the pandemic.

It found that hospitality seems to be associated with greater risk of transmission than the leisure and retail sectors, particularly in ‘poorly ventilated and crowded indoor settings’.

But it said the proportion of cases across the population as a whole which could be attributed to such settings was ‘relatively low’, with staff at greater risk than customers.

The High Court judgement has yet to be published.

A UK government spokesperson said: ‘Our roadmap sets out a cautious approach to easing restrictions, based on the best scientific evidence available at the time. We published a full range of scientific papers alongside it on 22 February.

‘It is widely acknowledged that the risk of transmission outdoors is significantly less than indoors, which is why businesses have already been able to open in some outdoor settings, ahead of indoor hospitality later this month.

‘The government has supported the hospitality sector throughout this global pandemic, including our new £5 billion Restart Grant scheme, extending the furlough scheme and the VAT cut, and providing 750,000 businesses in hospitality and other sectors with business rates relief.’

 

Despite the bad news for hospitality, Britons hoping for summer holidays abroad were given a major boost last night as Boris Johnson confirmed they can resume this month – and Europe said it would throw open its borders in a bid to bring in vaccinated travellers. 

For the first time, the Prime Minister confirmed ‘some openings up’ of international travel would get under way from May 17. A formal announcement will be made later this week.

The European Union revealed plans for dropping its blanket entry ban for non-EU countries with strong vaccine campaigns and low infection rates such as the UK.

A senior EU official singled out Britain’s jabs rollout for praise and confirmed the aim is to drop the ban on Britons visiting for leisure travel from June. 

The move dovetails with Britain’s own plans for green-lighting foreign holidays from May 17, with travellers able to visit a ‘green list’ of countries without having to quarantine when they return.

The government’s ‘green list’ of countries to which people can travel without having to isolate for 14 days on their return is expected to be released this week, although it is understood details are still being finalised.

Reports suggested the list could include about a dozen countries, although some newspapers suggested it could be fewer than 10.

One government source told The Times people should be patient before the ‘big bang for summer holidays’ at the start of next month. 

‘June will look a lot more like normal, many of the traditional holiday destinations will be on the list by then,’ the source said.

For the first time, the Prime Minister confirmed 'some openings up' of international travel would get under way from May 17. A formal announcement will be made later this week

For the first time, the Prime Minister confirmed ‘some openings up’ of international travel would get under way from May 17. A formal announcement will be made later this week 

For the first time, the Prime Minister confirmed 'some openings up' of international travel would get under way from May 17. A formal announcement will be made later this week

For the first time, the Prime Minister confirmed ‘some openings up’ of international travel would get under way from May 17. A formal announcement will be made later this week

Pictured: Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain, on May 1, 2021

Pictured: Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain, on May 1, 2021

People sit in on a cafe terrace, in the Monastiraki district of Athens, with the Acropolis hill in the background, Monday, May 3, 2021

People sit in on a cafe terrace, in the Monastiraki district of Athens, with the Acropolis hill in the background, Monday, May 3, 2021

Senior government sources told The Guardian that the number of destinations that Britons would be able to travel to without the need to quarantine could be in single digits.

One source said that many countries on the list are not likely to be major holiday destinations.

Travellers could avoid Covid tests on return from ‘green list’ countries to save them hundreds of pounds under new plan being considered by ministers 

Holidaymakers would avoid Covid tests when returning to Britain from ‘green list’ countries under plans being considered by ministers.

Although they would still need to take a test before flying home, they could be allowed to skip having a second one two days after they arrive. 

The move would help make holidays more affordable for families this summer. 

Gold-standard PCR Covid tests can cost as much as £200 per person.

This week the Government will give the go-ahead to restarting holidays from May 17. Countries will be rated red, amber or green according to their Covid risk.

Travellers returning from low-risk green countries will not have to quarantine when they get back. 

But they will have to pay for and take two Covid tests – one up to three days before flying home and another within two days of arrival back in the UK.

Now, however, ministers are considering dropping the second test requirement when a review into the policy takes place on June 28. 

It is unclear if this would apply only to fully vaccinated people or whether it could be extended to unvaccinated Britons.

Officials are also said to be mulling scrapping the ten-day home quarantine requirement for arrivals from amber countries. 

But this would apply only to vaccinated people.

Both The Times and The Guardian said destinations likely to make it onto the list for travel from May 17 include Portugal, Malta and Gibraltar, while the Telegraph said Spain, Greece and France could be added by the end of June.

It comes as Boris Johnson said the approach to foreign travel this summer will be sensible to avoid ‘an influx of disease’.

The Prime Minister said there will be ‘some opening up’ on May 17, the next milestone in the Government’s road map for restrictions to lift, but that things must be done in a way ‘to make sure that we don’t see the virus coming back in’ to the UK. 

However, Mr Johnson yesterday warned that ministers would be ‘cautious’, with only a handful of countries – set to be fewer than ten – likely to be eligible for quarantine-free travel initially.

Most of Europe is not expected to make it on to the green list until at least June, after three-weekly reviews have got under way. One source said would-be holidaymakers will be ‘disappointed when they see the size’ of the list, but stressed that many more destinations could be added by the height of summer.

But the news is still much improved from a few weeks ago, when the resumption of holidays appeared in doubt and much of Europe appeared to be in the grip of a third wave.

It came as industry chiefs wrote an open letter to the PM calling on him to open up a ‘travel corridor’ with the US in time for summer.

The letter was signed by Airlines UK, Heathrow and Gatwick airports and the World Travel and Tourism Council.

It said that reopening the border was ‘essential for both countries’ economic recovery’ and air travel was ‘a critical enabler of trade’.

Mr Johnson finally confirmed the holidays news during a campaign visit to Hartlepool for the forthcoming by-election there.

Asked if people should be planning breaks abroad, he said: ‘I think that there will be some openings up on [May] 17, but we have got to be cautious and we have got to be sensible and we have got to make sure that we don’t see the virus coming back in.

‘We do want to do some opening up on May 17 but I don’t think that the people of this country want to see an influx of disease from anywhere else.

‘I certainly don’t and we have got to be very, very tough, and we have got to be as cautious as we can, whilst we continue to open up.’

The EU aims to make quarantine-free and even testing-free holidays to hotspots such as Portugal, Spain and Greece possible again from early to mid-summer.

The bloc said it was happy to do this because the latest scientific evidence showed people being vaccinated does ‘actually break, or help break, transmission’.

Under plans unveiled by the European Commission, vaccinated Britons will be able to visit holiday hotspots without needing any tests or going into quarantine. 

Unvaccinated visitors will need to show proof of a negative test on arrival.

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