Leadmill announces it will stay open until forced to close, accusing Boris Johnson of 'throwing industry under a bus'

In a statement released today, the famous Sheffield music venue said that staff had voted ‘overwhelmingly’ to remain open and that they would be taking special measures to ensure that they were doing so safely.

The venue also slammed the Prime Minister’s decision to advise venues, pubs and clubs to close rather than making it mandatory. It pointed out that by doing this Johnson was making it impossible for them to claim for business interruption insurance to cover costs and lost revenue.

The statement said: “We’d like to take this moment to highlight the government’s shortcomings in yesterday’s statement.

“The Prime Minister made a clear choice to throw the UK’s music and hospitality industry under the bus by not setting any concrete restrictions therefore putting the onus on us to decide whether we shut or remain open.

“This will prevent anyone form being able to claim for business interruption through their insurance and could see sweeping closures of the UK’s most beloved grassroots music venues and independent bars.”

The statement went on to highlight that rather than just ‘its four walls’, the Leadmill comprises 75 staff members, as well as 30 freelance sound engineers and all its suppliers. It said these are all ‘real people with rents, mortgages and bills to pay’.

“We held a vote last night where the staff overwhelmingly decided we should stay open until we are forcibly told to close or we can no longer afford to stay open.”

The Leadmill said that it would remain open until further notice.

It also outline measures it would be taking to keep everybody safe, including extra cleaning, stopping taking cash and soap dispensers.

It will also be auctioning off memorabilia form gigs by bands including Arctic Monkeys and Arcade Fire, with more information on this coming soon.

The government’s decision to advise customers not to attend social venues has sparked outrage across Sheffield.