Wake up and smell the coffee! Customers hug each other as they meet and sit outside celebrity hangout Daylesford Cafe in London’s exclusive Westbourne Grove despite Boris Johnson’s coronavirus ban
- The Daylesford Cafe on Westbourne Grove has been photographed ‘still open’
- The popular celeb hangout can be seen with people still sitting outside
- Yesterday, police announced they would be on the alert to close any pubs or bars that refuse to comply with the government’s shutdown of social venues
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
Customers hugged each other as they met and sat outside a West London celebrity hangout cafe today despite Boris Johnson’s coronavirus ban.
Daylesford cafe, a celebrity hangout in Notting Hill, has been photographed with people sitting outside on chairs, eating and drinking, almost a day after Johnson ordered all pubs, bars, restaurants in the UK to shut down in the hopes of slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
When asked why people were sitting outside at Westbourne Grove, an employee at Daylesford’s Pimlico branch told the MailOnline: ‘I don’t know why they’re doing this.
‘An email was sent round to all stores yesterday telling us to follow the government’s advice and to remove all seating from outside the store.
‘And, not to encourage eating on the premises’.
‘I don’t know why they’re not following what’s been advised,’ he added.
A popular cafe with celebrities Daylesford in Westbourne Grove defies Boris Johnson’s orders to close and to have no seating today in London
As a farm shop and a cafe, Daylesford premises are allowed to remain open for shoppers looking to buy food to take home.
However, their restaurant facilities should not be up and running, the employee said.
Yesterday, police announced they would be on the alert to close any pubs or bars that refuse to comply with the government’s shutdown of social venues.
People can be seen sitting at the West London cafe today, as the venue defies Boris Johnson’s order to close down to stop the coronavirus spread
A potential breeding ground for coronavirus?: A popular cafe with celebrities Daylesford in Westbourne Grove defies Boris Johnson’s orders to close and to have no seating
Police forces were mobilised to enforce the shutdown, with chief constables engaging civil contingencies designed to respond to events such as rioting and terrorism, allowing longer shifts and making more officers available.
Under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, officers have been granted the power to revoke operating licences for several different types of venues if they are deemed to be playing a role in disorder.
It comes after drinkers across the country enjoyed a final pint and panic-bought alcohol from supermarkets yesterday following Boris Johnson’s order for all pubs, clubs, theatres, cinemas, gyms and sports centres to close ‘as soon as they reasonably can and not to reopen tomorrow’.
A popular cafe with celebrities Daylesford in Westbourne Grove defies Boris Johnson’s orders to close and to have no seating
A popular cafe with celebrities Daylesford in Westbourne Grove defies Boris Johnson’s orders to close and to have no seating today
Customers sit on chairs outside the Daylesford cafe in Westbourne Grove today, one day after Boris Johnson ordered all restaurants, pubs and bars to close
Ken Marsh, head of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said: ‘It’s very simple. Under licensing laws we can revoke their licences, and then they are breaking the law.’
Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt this morning welcomed the government’s shutdown of pubs and restaurants, although he suggested the measures should have been enforced sooner.
But thousands of Friday night revellers ignored the government’s advice on social distancing as they danced the night away despite the coronavirus death toll rising by 40 on Friday to 177, with almost 4,000 infected, although the real figure is believed to be greater than 10,000.
The Metropolitan Police and Daylesford Cafe have been contacted by MailOnline for comment.