Refurbishment is underway at the Magdala Tavern in South Hill Park

THE landlord of the historic Magdala Tavern in Hampstead has slammed “draconian rules” after announcing he is putting back its reopening until next month.

The pub in South Hill Park, which hasn’t served punters for seven years, was set to open on Monday despite not having a beer garden. Landlord Dick Morgan was hoping to take advantage in a relaxation of rules on takeaway beer, to give the community a taste of things to come when the restrictions allow customers to drink indoors again.

However, he said that the 108 pages of regulations that pubs must follow in order to welcome customers into beer gardens, or allow them to sell takeaway on Monday, have left him irate.

“I’m fed up of a load of these neo-Nazis that masquerade as civil servants, they think they can make up the rules as they go along that from the operator of the pub’s point of view makes no difference to anybody’s safety,” Mr Morgan said.

“They’re just draconian. I’m not sure what the licensing trade has done to upset Boris Johnson and his merry men even more. What have we ever done for them? Apart from paying a huge amount of tax into the exchequer every year.”

The pub is now scheduled to reopen on May 17. Mr Morgan, 70, who grew up in Hampstead and attended schools locally, said the rules around takeaway drinks made it impossible for the pub to reopen and he feared the impact on people locally.

The 19th-century pub became famous as the site where the last woman to be hanged in Britain, Ruth Ellis, shot her boyfriend in 1955. It closed in 2014 and was awarded Asset of Community Value (ACV) status, as Camden Council rejected applications by its owner Ori Calif to have it turned into flats.

Mr Morgan said: “I’m just concerned that people will be queuing outside and people might be taking it away and drinking on the pavement, and for the sake of the local residents it’s just better we wait until May 17. We just can’t do it the way it’s currently set out, the regulations make it impossible. You can’t even have people using the toilet, or coming in to pay by card.”

“It’s very disappointing, especially after I’ve spent all of my money, it would have been good to see it coming back next week. I would rather wait until we can open it properly now, than risk upsetting the community who have supported us so far.”