Sam Moss, who reopened The Albert in Primrose Hill

A LANDLORD has hit out at the regulations for pub reopenings this week, saying the rules made no sense and that his sector had been unfairly treated by the government.

Pubs and restaurants in England reopened after nearly four months on Monday, although punters must be served outside or have takeaway drinks.

Sam Moss, who has reopened The Albert in Primrose Hill, said: “I’ve been like an excited school child before Christmas, particularly over the last week. It’s nice to just have something to do. It was this never-ending nothing, and waiting for somebody else to make a decision.”

But, speaking to The Camden New Journal Podcast, he added that he felt the sector had been given a rough deal. “It seems perverse that today I could have gone down Regent Street, gone in 30 shops, picked things up, put them back, not really maintained social distancing – no track and trace,” he said.

“I can go in those shops and nobody has any record of me visiting them. Yet if I want to go to a pub with five friends, everyone has to check in. It’s just bananas. There’s no scientific evidence to back those rules up.”

He added: “The most frustrating thing has been the complete lack of fairness in terms of the rules between pubs, restaurants and non-essential retail. That’s something I think is very frustrating. We, and every hospitality business I know, has invested hugely in making their venues safe.”

The Albert in Princess Road reopened briefly in November after being closed for six years amid a planning saga. “The main thing is that we stay open,” said Mr Moss.

“Having an outside space just means that we can get on with trying to build our business. Two thirds of pubs in this country don’t have outside space or outside space that’s big enough. That’s a massive proportion.”

The Camden New Journal podcast featuring an interview with Mr Moss is available now. CLICK HERE.