Birmingham restaurateur delays legal challenge against Tier 3 restrictions

Last week it was reported that Sam Morgan, who owns fine-dining restaurant and bar Craft at The International Convention Centre, was seeking a judicial review of the restrictions​​ that are in place across large swathes of northern England and the Midlands.

Morgan is backed by 256 businesses from across the region, who have joined forces under the newly-established Birmingham Hospitality Group.

As well as demanding to see data to support the decision to keep hospitality businesses closed in Tier 3 areas, the group is calling for the Government to provide adequate financial support in order for the sector to survive.

Originally the group intended to send a letter directly to Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday (4 December) with the demands, but Morgan has now delayed this in order to allow the city's Mayor and leader of the council to try and reach an agreement on securing targeted financial support for businesses hit by the restrictions.

In a statement, Morgan said: "We welcome the open and constructive dialogue with the mayor who has pro-actively alongside the Chamber of Commerce pushed for additional support for our sector. 

"Independently we accept that it is important that the sector allows its elected representatives to see such discussions through. 

"The sector is currently under an extreme amount of pressure and as such time is of the essence in respect of such discussions however equally it is important that in turn our efforts being brought before the courts do not prevent, delay or hinder those discussions.

"The basis of our action is primarily to understand more about why we are closed and how we can move forward as a sector and bring this matter to a close with our business’s remaining strong to support the economy.

"It is important that this position is understood and is the basis for constructive discussions between all parties and as such we welcomed the discussion with the Mayor of West Midlands.

"It is such that I have opted to delay issuing the letter before action to allow the Mayor and leader of the council to continue constructive dialogue with the UK Government in the hope this can be resolved, we understand that this may not turn out as we hope and as such our case remains in place should such a suitable resolution not be achieved."