OTLEY’S MP has warned that the Tier 2 coronavirus restrictions could cause hospitality businesses to ‘bleed out’.

Alex Sobel (Lab, Leeds North West) made the warning during a House of Commons debate this week when there were strong calls for the support package being offered to pubs and restaurants to be enhanced.

Mr Sobel said: “I held a roundtable with hospitality businesses facing Tier 2 restrictions at which a restaurant owner said that his business would just bleed out with the economic support that was available.

“They asked whether we could look at increasing the intervention rate for the job support scheme in November in order to be more generous, because otherwise they will have to let go of their staff and there is the potential for large-scale closures of hospitality businesses.”