Brewdog boss brands 10pm pub curfew 'absolutely bonkers'
1 October 2020, 17:53
Brewdog boss tells LBC what impact the 10pm curfew is having on his pubs
Pub chain boss calls for "half-hour drinking up time" as he brands 10pm curfew unscientific and "absolutely bonkers."
James Brown from the pub chain Brewdog told LBC he finds the 10pm pub curfew "absolutely bonkers"
He said anyone in the pub industry could have told the Government what would happen, "if you shut the bars at 10 o'clock."
Explaining to LBC customers leaving "highly regulated bars" are then just out on the unregulated streets.
"The whole industry is furious about the whole situation," Mr Brown told LBC.
It comes after the Health Secretary was forced to defend the curfew imposed on pubs and restaurants after MPs suggested they should be devolved to different parts of the country.
Matt Hancock promised to do "whatever he can" to support the hospitality industry.
Eddie asked the pubs expert if he would like to see more oversight like MPs having scrutiny of emergency coronavirus rules.
"Yeah, we'd love to see that oversight and to have the Government challenged," Mr Brown said.
He explained that he would like to be able to learn the "science and the reasoning behind this decision."
He said he did not believe the science behind the 10pm curfew even exists.
"We think that this is a knee jerk reaction," the publican told LBC.
'I need someone to justify table service to me' - pub landlord
When asked what the impact of the new rules had been on his business Mr Brown said Brewdog had seen a 12% drop in trade.
He explained it was not the 10pm closure which had the biggest impact but the fact in some areas of the country the police are going into bars and telling people to leave.
"The hospitality business is built on looking after people, welcoming people and giving them a good time," he said, adding "to have police to come into the business and ask people to leave, to have the night ended so abruptly is tough."
Mr Brown said having a "half-hour drinking up time" would "make our lives so much better."
Watch the whole interesting exchange in the video at the top of the page.
