Former Scottish Licensed Trade Association chief executive Paul Waterson told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme that the UK and Scottish governments need to send out “clear, definite messages” to the public or risk pubs and restaurants going bust.
He said: “You can’t say pubs have to stay open, then tell people not to come into them. To leave it up to us (the industry) to decide when we are in a very, very difficult situation is just wrong.”
He added, “A lot of us have expected this to happen and a lot of places have already shut. I think, now, we’ve got to look towards the government to help us out. If we don’t get the support, we could well see the majority of hospitality business failing.
“For some people, it could be a week without any income that would see them go under. It could be a month or two months for others – it just depends on cash reserves.”