A lifetime ban on visiting town centre pubs and bars has been lifted on Warrington South MP Andy Carter, with the town’s Pubwatch group apologising for any embarrassment caused.
Members of the voluntary Warrington PubWatch scheme had voted unanimously to impose the ban on Mr Carter for previously backing the 10pm curfew claiming he was showing no support for the hospitality sector when it was needed most.
Warrington Pubwatch Chairperson James Bannister said: “As the public were made aware, Mr Andrew Carter was placed on a pubwatch banning order earlier this month.
“This was due to hostility felt towards his actions whilst dealing with the tier systems placed upon the hospitality industry and his failure to stand up for what many of the licenses and parents within the town felt whilst dealing with the free meals for children during this difficult time.
“After long and detailed discussions, the committee has listened to his argument and decided to withdraw the banning order due to Mr Carter’s help within the House of Commons and great work undertaken in getting Warrington into the lower bracket of tier 2, due to come into place on December 2nd.
“We understand that the initial ban had caused quite a lot of media attention, this was never our intention and as a result would like to apologise for any embarrassment this may have caused towards Mr Carter.”
Mr Carter said: “PubWatch in Warrington plays an important role in reducing alcohol-related crime in the town centre, I was disappointed a small number of their members chose to use the organisation’s good name for political purposes at a time of national emergency. Having worked to support the hospitality sector since the initial lockdown in March I know how devastating the restrictions are for these small businesses.
“I will continue to push the Government to provide tailored support for this sector and I’m pleased many pubs will be able to re-open next week when the national restrictions come to an end.”
A Cheshire Police spokesperson said: “Cheshire Constabulary does not have any involvement in Pubwatch bans – they are a civil matter and there are no policing powers to enforce them.”
MP makes no apologies for attempting to save lives after lifetime ban from pubs and bars
2 Comments
I bet if the roles were reversed and the MP had banned members of Pubwatch from entering his constituency office and refused to help them if they approached him for advice as an MP, there would be a clamour of protest. What hypocrisy.
It was a pathetic decision anyway.