All House of Commons bars and restaurants will be banned from selling alcohol as of Saturday, the Speaker has confirmed.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said: ‘Following the Government’s decision to move London into the Tier 2 Covid-alert category, I have asked the parliamentary authorities to introduce measures to bring the House of Commons into line with the national picture.
‘As MPs represent different constituencies in different tiers – with the very highest level ordering the closure of pubs – I have decided to stop the sale of alcohol across the House of Commons-end of the estate from this Saturday.
House of Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, pictured, has banned the sale of alcohol from bars and restaurants under his section of the Palace of Westminster as a result of London’s new Covid-19 regulations
Sir Lindsay said: ‘This means it will not be possible to buy an alcoholic drink from any of our catering outlets for the foreseeable future – whether food is served or not’
‘This means it will not be possible to buy an alcoholic drink from any of our catering outlets for the foreseeable future – whether food is served or not.
‘The House of Commons Commission will be meeting on Monday to consider other measures needed to protect MPs, their staff and House staff, while maintaining our Covid-secure status.’
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has told Londoners who are being asked to make ‘monumental sacrifices’ in the forthcoming local lockdown to ‘ignore Government politicians’ who have flouted coronavirus rules.
The capital city is bracing for Tier 2 restrictions from Saturday, which means a ban on separate households mixing indoors, including in pubs and restaurants.
On the day extra restrictions were announced for areas including London, Essex and areas of Yorkshire, it was also disclosed that SNP MP Margaret Ferrier will face no further action from police after travelling between London and Glasgow following a positive coronavirus test.
When asked if he was worried about how a lack of compliance by Ms Ferrier, as well as by the Prime Minister’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings, might affect the willingness of Londoners to make more sacrifices themselves, Mr Khan urged Londoners to ‘do the right thing for our city’.
He said: ‘I know from anecdotal experience, speaking to Londoners from all walks of life, but also from polling done by independent polling companies, that the way the Prime Minister’s chief adviser behaved led to people asking the question ‘why should I follow the rules when he isn’t?’.
‘My advice to Londoners is to ignore what Government ministers do, or Government advisers do, or members of Parliament do.
‘Do what is the right thing for our city and for your loved ones and for yourself.
‘These restrictions are there because there are no good options, and this will slow down the spread of the virus, which means hopefully you not catching the virus, your loved one not catching the virus, and then not needing the NHS, which means the NHS can continue to treat patients who are non-Covid as well as those who have Covid.’
Mr Khan added that he hoped Tier 2 restrictions mean the NHS Nightingale hospital in the London ExCeL Centre will not need to be placed on standby, as has been done in Harrogate, Manchester and Sunderland, while Belfast’s coronavirus overspill hospital has reopened.
He said: ‘I spoke today to the NHS London team, and because of the brilliant work of the NHS we currently have sufficient capacity in the NHS both in terms of general admissions, but also in terms of intensive care units.
‘We’re hoping because of these additional restrictions being brought in on Saturday first thing, there won’t be a need to open the Nightingale because Londoners will follow the new rules.’
On Thursday he also backed calls by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer for a nationwide ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown, to give the Government time to ‘finally sort out the test, trace and isolate system’.
London is just hours away from entering Tier Two of the government’s Covid-19 rules, placing additional restrictions on meeting people from outside your household or bubble in bars and restaurants
He said: ‘The Government, frankly speaking, has failed us as a country by not sorting out test, trace and isolate, despite the passage of six months.
‘What they should be doing is speaking to colleagues in South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and elsewhere, who have sorted out, to learn from them what needs to be done.’
He has also written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, urging him to support businesses in the capital through the Tier 2 lockdown, by extending the furlough scheme, directing financial support to the sectors which have suffered the most, and extending the business rates holiday currently in place until March 2021 so that businesses can plan beyond then.
Different restrictions are being introduced across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in an effort to stymie a second wave of the killer virus.
In Scotland, 570 Covid-19 patients were in hospital as of Wednesday, up from 319 a week earlier, with 49 in ventilation beds, up from 28 a week earlier.
In Wales, 384 Covid-19 patients were in hospital as of Wednesday, up from 277 a week earlier, with 29 in ventilation beds, up from 27 a week earlier.
In Northern Ireland, 164 Covid-19 patients were in hospital as of Tuesday, up from 147 a week earlier, with 17 in ventilation beds as of Wednesday, up from 11 a week earlier.
Data on patients with Covid-19 is not comparable across the UK due to differences in the way the figures are reported.