BREWERS in Greater Manchester have come together to label Tier 3 restrictions a “disgrace”.

The heads of Joseph Holt, Hydes, Thwaites, JW Lees, and Robinson’s, are arguing against tougher restrictions that “would be a deliberate political act of wilful economic destruction, visited upon the North for no gain.”

The joint statement says: “Our breweries and pubs have been an integral part of Greater Manchester communities for hundreds of years – we are on the ground – we are not running our pubs in a theoretical intellectual and political bubble 200 miles away in Westminster.

“The current government policy to single out pubs for closure in Tier 3 with inadequate support is a national disgrace.

“It is clear, and the statistics show, that transmission of the coronavirus is happening in education, care homes, hospitals and the home.

“Already we have been trading with severe restrictions since 31st July in Greater Manchester but we feel that the government is now going too far and we stand by the stance that Andy Burnham, Mayor of Manchester, is taking that our pubs cannot be closed down in the manner proposed with Tier 3 restrictions and only very limited compensation.

“The government is not able to produce any evidence that pubs or the hospitality sector is a significant factor in coronavirus transmission – because there is none."