A senior government source has disputed that there is any intention to allow pubs to re-open so long as they don’t sell alcohol.

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They told the Daily Mail: “We are not going to open pubs that can’t sell booze. What would be the point of that?”

Author and brewer Peter Haydon has written to his MP, Helen Hayes, to raise questions about the ramour, which has vexed social media all weekend.

He wrote: “I would be grateful if you could ask the government, if they are worried about the behaviour of people after, say, 9pm on a Friday or Saturday evening, why I should not be able to go into a pub on a Tuesday afternoon and enjoy a quiet pint and a newspaper?

“The issue is not alcohol in pubs per se, but the behaviour of certain people in certain pubs at certain times. In which case, the government should address that particular problem.

“Imposing a blanket ban on alcohol sales across all hours is unimaginative, unnecessary, excessive, draconian, and economically damaging.”