John Swinney needs “a good horizontal lie down”, a Glasgow MSP has said after the Deputy First Minister said ‘vertical drinking’ at a bar, standing up, would not be allowed when covid rules change next Monday.
He had said that a customer could order a drink at a bar standing up, if wearing a mask but couldn’t drink it there.
He told the BBC Good Morning Scotland programme people gathering around a bar in a pub were "a hallmark of hospitality venues in the past".
READ MORE:Nicola Sturgeon: Scotland to move out of Covid restrictions next week
But he added: "Maybe that's not a good idea in the context of Covid being part of our lives now".
Mr Swinney was asked: "If you are standing at a bar, for instance - vertical drinking as they call it - you are standing up having a drink at a bar, can you do that without wearing a face covering?"
Mr Swinney replied: "No, you can't"
However later, pub bosses said they had been told by the Scottish Government that drinking standing up at a bar was allowed.
Paul Togneri, of the Scottish Beer & Pub Association, said on twitter, they had: "Confirmation from Scottish Government officials that vertical drinking will be allowed from Monday in Scotland's pubs and bars."
Annie Wells Glasgow Conservative MSP reacted to the statements saying it was “mixed messaging” that was not helpful to busineses.
She said: “This is a shambles. Within just a few hours, the SNP Government have u-turned on what John Swinney emphatically told everyone earlier.
“He had to apologise for promoting fake news a few weeks ago and now his officials have been forced to slap down his latest gaffe in humiliating fashion.
“Mixed messaging like this is unacceptable. It makes life even harder for businesses who already have to adapt to new rules.
“John Swinney doesn’t need a vertical drink, he needs a good long horizontal lie down.”
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