Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘Fatal blow’ warning from Dundee nightclub boss as hospitality firms face wait for Covid support

Nicola Sturgeon and Tony Cochrane.

A Dundee nightclub boss has warned hospitality firms face a “fatal blow” after crunch talks over Covid support between Nicola Sturgeon and Boris Johnson were kicked on into the weekend.

The first minister insisted during a briefing on Friday that it would be “unconscionable” for the Treasury to fail to make use of its borrowing powers and give extra cash to businesses pushed to the brink by the spread of the Omicron variant.

Ms Sturgeon acknowledged the damage already done to hospitality and events firms after Scots were urged to “stay at home” either side of Christmas.

The industry will receive £66 million as part of a £100m support package provided by the Scottish Government.

But the SNP leader argued she is unable to cancel large events – such as football matches – without more money from Westminster.

FM calls for further support for hard-pressed firms

Ms Sturgeon said she would ask the prime minister to bring back support schemes “available earlier in the pandemic” but stopped short of calling specifically for a return to furlough payments.

A phone call between the pair later on Friday was described as “constructive – though at this stage inconclusive” by the first minister’s official spokesman.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Prime Minister Boris Johnson
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Prime Minister Boris Johnson

The two leaders will attend a cross-government emergency meeting at the weekend, along with representatives of the other devolved administrations, and agreed to continue talks over financial support for businesses.

It means hospitality bosses and staff face a further agonising wait – well into the final weekend before Christmas – to learn what support, if any, will be in place.

Clubs boss warns businesses are ‘clinging on’ for life

Tony Cochrane, who runs Club Tropicana, Aura, Duck Slattery’s and Fat Sams in Dundee, as well as more than a dozen venues stretched across every city in Scotland, warned many firms are now barely “clinging on”.

His business reopened its doors less than six months ago and has already struggled to replace the staff lost during earlier lockdowns.

He says that without additional support beyond furlough, a further closure – either through a formal lockdown or because customers are scared off by health advice and government messaging – could be a death sentence.

“It’s a killer,” Mr Cochrane said.

Tony Cochrane
Tony Cochrane

“The furlough would help if we’re going to have to reduce the number of staff over the period but to close down entirely is just beyond thinking about.

“Furlough is one thing but this is our biggest month. If we have to close down between now and New Year it would just be fatal, a fatal blow to everybody.”

Mr Cochrane said even with new rules introduced to prevent crowding, the number of people coming in are enough “just to help us pay the bills and survive”.

But the nightclub boss said government guidance on Christmas has left the public with “no confidence” in the sector and that means bookings will continue to be cancelled at what is traditionally one of the industry’s busiest periods.

Swift engagement with the Treasury needed

The first minister’s official spokesman said that during the phone call with Mr Johnson she “emphasised the extreme urgency of the crisis” facing hospitality, events and culture-related sectors.

He said the prime minister agreed the need for “swift engagement with the Treasury on the immediate action needed”.

Ms Sturgeon also sought “clarity” on how funding can be triggered by any or all of the UK administrations in the event of further measures being necessary, the spokesman said.

A Downing Street spokesman said the two leaders “agreed on the importance of close collaboration for the benefit of citizens across the UK” and the pair “will continue to work together”.