Fear grows of permanent hospitality closures if the government does not provide more financial support for the sector #Hospitalityneedshelp

Advice to curb festive celebrations in order to slow the infection rate of Coronavirus has left hospitality businesses facing huge cancellations at what should have been a lucrative time of the year.

Business owners and hospitality workers have voiced their frustrations on social media and in mainstream media over the governments mixed messaging which will leave many on the brink of closure once again.

Tom Kerridge shared a video via his Instagram showing hundreds of cancellations, writing: "Public health is THE most important thing. The problem is what will the government do to support the hospitality industry? Many places are going to crumble without help….

"And before some gammon-faced idiot says 'you can afford it fat lad!' … yes I probably can, but this isn't about me or my restaurants. It's about our industry and people's livelihoods."

He is not alone, Michel Roux Jr tweeted: “My daughters restaurant has had over 300 cancellations in the last 2 days, gone from breaking even to a loss. @BorisJohnson @RishiSunak hospitality and the supply chain need help, this is deja vue March 2020”

Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burman added: “You can’t tell people to “think carefully” before going to pubs and restaurants and then fail to provide any support for the workers/businesses affected. “The Government needs to bring forward a support package TODAY for hospitality, events, music and other affected sectors.”

And Kate Nicholls, CEO of UKHospitality: "This feels very reminiscent of Feb/March 2020 with an inexorable slide in revenues to unsustainable levels for hospitality."

The Staff Canteen is calling on all of those in the industry to send this message direct to chancellor Rishi Sunak by tweeting him directly and using #Hospitalityneedshelp. The sector needs to unite as one loud voice to make sure it gets the support it needs.

Copy, paste and tweet the below:

The hospitality industry needs support now @RishiSunak #Hospitalityneedshelp