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Gloucestershire Business News

G7 party pictures 'hard pill to swallow' - Gloucestershire business leader

Seeing G7 leaders enjoying a barbecue on the beach when the hospitality industry is being asked to endure more suffering is a 'hard pill to swallow', says a Gloucestershire business leader.

Steve Gardner-Collins, chairman of Visit Gloucestershire and sales director of the Hatton Collection, said: "We are tolerating the restrictions because we believe we have to, but you see the G7 over the weekend and they started with masks and social distancing, and they end up having a barbecue on the beach and not socially distancing.

"It's a hard pill to swallow when we're being told to do one thing and we're seeing them do another."

Government ministers are believed to have signed off on a four-week extension to the proposed ending of lockdown restrictions on 21st June - so-called Freedom Day. The Prime Minister is scheduled to confirm the delay at a news conference at 6pm.

The effects of capacity restrictions are being acutely felt by the whole hospitality sector in Gloucestershire, particularly the wedding industry, late-night drinking, and restaurants and cafes, operating with limited tables.

Steve Gardner-Collins added: "We're plodding on but we're not enjoying it. Hospitality is meant to be about having fun and letting your hair down, but they are sapping the life out of fun.

"It's anxious for a lot of the visitors too, knowing when and when not to wear a mask, and it's difficult to constrain your customers when they look at the leaders doing what they're doing."

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