'Keir Starmer is a f****** idiot' - Pub landlord warns smoking ban will destroy UK boozers

Pub landlords have blasted a proposed Labour beer garden smoking ban as “absolute lunacy".

The Government plan to bring in a raft of new smoking rules has been unveiled - with documents revealing lighting up could be outlawed in a vast number of outdoor spaces, from playgrounds to pub's outdoor spaces.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer confirmed the proposal today (Thursday, August 29) following a leaked report which outlines the controversial plot.

The plans have sparked total fury among smokers and non smokers alike - with many blasting it as "nanny state" gone mad and others saying it’s the final nail in the coffin for the hospitality industry.

There are perhaps none as incensed as an army of pub landlords across the country who are already under the cosh as supermarket booze sales continue to impact their businesses, while many punters choose to stay at home for a pint.

Now, two pub owners have told Express.co.uk about why they believe the rules would be totally unworkable - with one saying it’ll kill his business.

Andy Oliver, 49, is the owner of Holey Molies, in Skelton, near Guisborough in North Yorkshire.

Mr Oliver, who is also a Conservative councillor who represents the Skelton East ward, has run the venue which includes an indoor mini golf course, sports bar, restaurant and live music venue for eight years.

He said: “It is absolute lunacy.

“If customers can’t smoke in a beer garden they will step into the perimeter of the pub and smoke in the streets and this will lead to littering. Every pub landlord knows that.

He added: “Many pubs are next to houses and I’m sure residents won’t be in favour of that.”

Mr Oliver says noise will also increase in residential areas as people are forced into the surrounding streets for a cigarette.

The landlord says that new Government rules are already hammering his profits and this will be a death knell for the industry.

He said: “The pub industry already is ridiculous - the minimum wage increase cost me tens and tens of thousands and I can’t keep putting the price of a pint up. We are not making money in this game any more. We are just surviving.

“This is just something else to stop sales. People won’t come into pubs.

“If you’re not going to be able to smoke, some people won’t come out as they will be scared of breaking the law. It’s not just people who smoke - it’s their friends.

“Keir Starmer is a f****** idiot. What he needs to do is look at what’s really happening in the world.

“Next there will be no smoking in the streets. How far are they going to go with it?"

Meanwhile pub owner and landlord Alex Cook, 42, has several hospitality businesses including a venue called The Mill, in Stokesley, also in North Yorkshire.

Mr Cook - who also owns Stokesley’s Italian restaurant Il Mulino and Piccolo cocktail bar - is not against tighter regulations on smoking but feels that the idea of banning smoking in pub gardens is problematic.

He said: “My initial response to that overall is that it’s good for public health. Smoking is a dying thing although vaping is huge.

“There are no clear laws whether you can vape inside a pub and that certainly has to be addressed first."

Alex feels that having a designated smoking area inside a beer garden would be one way of looking after public health but also his customer’s wants.

He added: “There are so many problems you have got with this proposal, including the noise problem of people being outside and the litter problem.”

He added: “There is nothing less attractive than walking into a pub and seeing a lot of people smoking outside.”

But Sir Keir Starmer has defended the introduction of new smoking rules.

He said: "My starting point on this is to remind everyone that over 80,000 people lose their lives every year to smoking, that's a preventable death, it's a huge burden on the NHS and of course on the taxpayer.

"So, yes we are going to take decisions in this space.

“More details will be revealed but this is a preventable cause of deaths and we've got to take the action to reduce the burden on the NHS and reduce the burden on the taxpayer."