Justice Secretary Robert Buckland today lashed out after the budget boozer announced it was planning for the reopening of pubs “in or around June”.
Appearing on LBC radio, Mr Buckland hit out at the announcement and claimed it would confuse the public.
He said: “I can understand the frustration of proprietors and owners of retail and pub outlets, wanting to get back into business.
“But my advice to everybody is please follow the collective view of the Government and indeed of the British people in working together to save lives.
“I think it would be a mistake for different businesses or individuals to just go off on a tangent and do their own thing, that just creates confusion for the public.
“It blunts the effectiveness of any measures we’re taking and it endangers all the progress that we’ve made in containing this virus.
“If we’re going to beat this, if we’re going to win the fight we’ve got to do it together, so let’s stick together and do things in a concerted way rather than going off in all different directions.”
A Wetherspoon’s spokesman Eddie Gershon yesterday insisted the firm was just “guessing” the date and it “may prove to be entirely incorrect”.
It comes as Nicola Sturgeon warned none of the lockdown rules are ready to be lifted.
Despite a massive PR operation last week to lay out options for how Scotland could come out of lockdown, the SNP leader last night suggested no changes were incoming.
She told ITV last night: “People talk about lifting the lockdown, that is not going to be a flick of the switch moment – we’re going to have to be very careful, very slow, very gradual.
“I’m far from convinced at this stage that when we get to the next review point on the 7th of May we’ll be in a position to lift any of these measures right now, because the margins of manoeuvre that we’re operating in right now are very, very, very tight and narrow.”
This week an adviser to the Government suggested pubs could limit Brits to three pints when the lockdown is lifted.
Professor Eyal Winter suggested Brits were “starving” for pubs, and the Government would bring in a drink limit to help them stay safe.
The Lancaster University academic insisted social distancing would be required if pubs reopen.
He is advising the Government on how to ease the coronavirus restrictions, and speaks with the Cabinet Office’s behavioural science group.
Pubs have been shut since the UK went into lockdown on March 23, but the economist suggested landlords and shop owners could be asked to enforce new rules.
He suggested landlords could ration how much beer they serve to two or three pints.
This month Michael Gove was asked whether boozers would open “before winter”.
He said: “The other inference that I draw from your question, which is that areas of hospitality will be among the last to exit the lockdown — yes, that is true.”
