Pub bosses have said images of the Prime Minister posing for a picture maskless inside a pub has disregarded the sector s struggles.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was pictured with the newly elected MP for Hartlepool, Jill Mortimer, at the Jacksons Wharf venue last week (Friday 7 May).
The pub posted pictures of the PM pouring a pint at the site, including one where Johnson and Mortimer have removed their masks for a photograph.
Operators said the images made a mockery of their staff s hard work committing to pandemic rules and the devastating impact of restrictions on their businesses.
Posting an image of Johnson without a mask to Twitter, Yummy Pub Company boss Tim Foster expressed his frustration at the restrictions faced by pubs.
The UK has confirmed another 2,357 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases and four deaths – all four in Wales
Both figures mark increases on last Monday s daily Covid numbers, although that was a bank holiday
Health chiefs say infections, hospital admissions and deaths have fallen consistently over the past months
The move means coronavirus is now only in general circulation and transmission is no longer high or rising
Hugging friends and family will be allowed from May 17, Michael Gove declared today.
The Cabinet Office minister said friendly contact between people in different households is set to return when the latest stage of the roadmap is reached in a week s time.
Boris Johnson is set to confirm the relaxation at a Downing Street press conference tomorrow, after the vaccine rolllout and plunging infections led to huge pressure from Tory MPs to speed up his plans.
The major step will be a huge relief to grandparents, most of whom have been unable to hug grandchildren for more than a year.
UK records 1,770 new Covid cases - up 6% in a week - with just two daily deaths as figures show a THIRD of all adults are now fully vaccinated
Coronavirus deaths tumbled by 86 per cent from 14 to just 2 in a week while cases rose slightly by 6 per cent
The latest official figures also show that a third of UK adults are now fully vaccinated against the virus
England and Northern Ireland are estimated to have given two doses to 33.6 per cent of their adult population
It comes as Michael Gove today declared that hugging friends and family will be allowed from May 17