THE Health Secretary Matt Hancock has come under fire over a nationwide curfew forcing pubs, restaurants and bars to shut at 10pm.

The restrictions, which came in after they were imposed in parts of the North-East a fortnight ago, were introduced nationally last week. 

It sees hospitality venues having to shut their doors early and forced to provide delivery services beyond 10pm instead.

The curfew had been brought in following a raft of measures to help slow down the spread of Covid-19. 

But pictures emerged showing the situation on the North-East's streets when pubs and restaurants had to shut up shop.

One man described the situation on Yarm High Street stating that more than 1,000 people were "kicked out" onto the street at 10pm. 

Meanwhile, some businesses in the region have already spoken out over the impact such a curfew is having on trade.

Al Forno in Darlington told The Northern Echo that it would see takings drop significantly following the requirement to shut early.

They said they would have to stop any more customers entering the venue just as demand reached its "busiest".

READ MORE: Al Forno in Darlington warns of impact from 10pm Covid curfew

But in the House of Commons today, Mr Hancock was accused of imposing rules which which could damage the the hospitality industry from members of his own party.

Arguing that the “arbitrary” curfew is limiting people’s freedoms, Tory Philip Davies (Shipley) called on the Health Secretary to “start acting like a Conservative” and stop presiding over a “nanny state”.

Mr Davies told Mr Hancock that the 10pm curfew is a “socialist approach which is serving no purpose at all apart from the further collapse of the economy”.

He said: “Is the Secretary of State aware of the damage the arbitrary 10pm curfew is doing to pubs, restaurants, bowling alleys and casinos?

“Is he aware of the jobs that are being lost, all just to see people congregating on the streets instead and shop staff getting more abuse.

“When will the Secretary of State start acting like a Conservative with a belief in individual responsibility and abandon this arbitrary, nanny state, socialist approach which is serving no purpose at all apart from the further collapse of the economy and to erode our freedoms?”

But Mr Hancock warned that “hundreds of thousands of deaths” could follow if coronavirus is allowed to “rip” through the country once more.

Mr Hancock replied that he “profoundly” disagrees with Mr Davies as he believes in “individual responsibility and the promotion of freedom, subject to not harming others”.

The Health Secretary added: “So it is perfectly reasonable to make the argument that we should just let the virus rip, I just think that the hundreds of thousands of deaths that would follow is not a price that anyone should pay.”

But former Conservative Minister, Andrew Jones urged Mr Hancock to “commit to keeping the restrictions under the closest possible review”.

Mr Jones said: “Restrictions curbing when we can go to the pub is against the DNA of our country, but we are in exceptional times and I recognise that includes taking measures which people don’t like and ministers don’t like having to introduce.”

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat MP Daisy Cooper (St Albans) said “lives and livelihoods” were being put at risk by the 10pm curfew, as she urged ministers to scrap the new measure which has been “a hammer-blow” to the hospitality sector.

Mr Hancock replied: “The virus spreads most outside of households when other households meet together, including in hospitality venues.”

Pictures showed hundreds of people gathering on streets across the North-East after new restrictions saw bars, restaurants and pubs shut at 10pm.