G-A-Y nightclub owner Jeremy Joseph launches legal action against ‘detrimental’ 10pm Covid-19 curfew
The gay nightlife mogul says current government restrictions make "no sense".
G-A-Y owner Jeremy Joseph has launched legal action against the UK government over its 10pm coronavirus-induced curfew on bars and clubs.
The famous figure of London’s gay scene told Sky News the rules make “absolutely no sense” adding it is doing “the opposite of protecting people.”
The move follows huge criticism of the rule, which has seen punters flood city streets at the same time each evening.
“The 10pm curfew which has now been in place for the last two weeks and has been detrimental to the hospitality sector, including G-A-Y, makes absolutely no sense,” Joseph told the publication.
“It does the opposite of protecting people by pushing them onto the street at the same time. They are going from being safe inside venues with staggered closing times to unsafe on overcrowded streets and overloaded public transport.”
G-A-Y has bars and club nights in both London and Manchester.
Joseph [pictured bottom at G-A-Y London with singer Emeli Sande and RPDR winner Aquaria] added: “This Government has failed to show why the 10pm curfew was put in place and has published no scientific evidence to substantiate its implementation.
“It seems to direct the blame for this action on the sector, consistently treating the night time Economy as a scapegoat when, in fact, we have years of operational experience of keeping customers safe, and have spent substantial time and effort making sure our venues are Covid secure.”
The PM announced the new curfew on 24 September.
A statement on the Kings Chambers & Simpson Millar website reads: “Leading barristers at Kings Chambers, including Sam Karim QC, Sarah Clover and Leo Charalambides, along with Dan Rosenberg of Simpson Millar Solicitors have been instructed by Jeremy Joseph of G-A-Y, the iconic club at Heaven in Charing Cross, to challenge the latest round of coronavirus restrictions affecting particularly those in the hospitality and entertainment industry.
“The pre-action protocol for judicial review has been served to challenge the Government’s decision to implement a national curfew of 10pm on hospitality premises. The curfew, which has had a significant impact on pubs, bars, restaurants and other hospitality venues across the country has been in place since 24th September 2020 and has been widely criticised by industry experts and politicians alike.
“The legal team of public law and licensing law experts have written to the Secretary of State, Matt Hancock at the Department of Health & Social Care with a formal challenge to the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (No. 2) (England) Regulations 2020 as amended on 24th September to include the 10pm curfew.”
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A government spokesperson has said: “Our measures strike a balance between saving lives by protecting our NHS and the most vulnerable and minimising the wider impact on the economy and schools.
“The latest data suggests a considerable rise in the infection rate following people socialising in hospitality venues serving alcohol in recent weeks, so we have taken immediate action to cut the transmission rate and save lives and will keep all measures under constant review.
“The 10pm closure allows people to continue to socialise while reducing the risk of failing to socially distance.”
Attitude has approached G-A-Y for comment.