The founder and chairman of JD Wetherspoon has demanded that pubs reopen at the same time as non-essential shops.

Tim Martin, whose pub chain includes The Counting House on Swan Bank, Congleton, stated the pub industry is on its knees, and that jobs would be lost if pubs did not open their doors soon.

He said the Wetherspoon business pays around £10 in taxation for each £1 of profit the company makes, meaning the nation's pubs normally make an enormous contribution to the economy.

Pubs, bars and restaurants across most of the UK are currently closed, although they are able to offer takeaway food and drink under certain restrictions.

Most scientists do not share Mr Martin's opinions, saying that it is too dangerous to contemplate opening pubs soon.

However, Mr Martin argues that pubs and restaurants can be "Covid-secure environments", having invested in safety precautions like table service only, carefully signposted routing of customers around premises, and plastic screens protecting tills.

He said: "Surely it is possible for the hospitality industry to reopen at the same time as non-essential shops, now that a vaccine exists, on the basis of the social distancing and hygiene regulations."

He also suggested that the various lockdown measures imposed on pubs for almost a year now, could add up to a "disaster" for the public finances.

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He pointed out that J D Wetherspoon, in the financial year to July 2019, before the Covid emergency, its customers and staff generated £764 million in taxes.