Labour is considering extending the indoor smoking ban to outdoor areas such as playgrounds, schools and hospitals after making a U-turn on plans to ban smoking in pub gardens.
When the ban was first announced back in August, pub bosses hit out at PM Keir Starmer arguing that his proposal would ‘destabilise’ an industry already under ‘immense pressure’
But the newly-appointed government this week announced it will ditch the ban, arguing it ‘is not the right time’ to impose such a measure on a struggling hospitality industry.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘There are lots of things that we can and will do on public health that don’t impact on people’s liberties and livelihoods.
‘It is no secret that UK hospitality has had a battering in recent years with the pandemic, and also the challenges in the economy and in people’s pockets means that there’s an ongoing…
