Boris Johnson's spokesman says scenes in Liverpool prove 10pm curfew is working

The Prime Minister flatly rejected calls to review the 10pm curfew and said the scenes in Liverpool over the weekend proved the measure was working.

Two of the North West region's Mayors - Joe Anderson in Liverpool and Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester - raised concerns over how the new curfew was working after rowdy scenes in both city centres on Saturday night.

Merseyside Police later said the video of a chanting crowd congregating at the top of Church Street/Hanover Street was an isolated incident and the gathering dispersed shortly afterwards.

And today it emerged Boris Johnson has refused to review the 10pm pub curfew, and instead sought to shift the blame for chaotic scenes onto pubgoers, reported Mirror Online.

Images over the weekend of crowds spilling onto the streets and queues for off-licences as pubs and restaurants closed early have sparked alarm amid rising infection rates.

Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson said the 10pm closure of pubs and restaurants was "making things worse not better", while his Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham raised concerns about pubgoers buying booze in shops after last orders and continuing to drink with friends.

He mooted a ban on sales of alcohol in shops after 9pm.

But the Prime Minister's spokesman insisted the policy was going well and dismissed calls for new limits on alcohol sales in off-licences.

The spokesman said Mr Johnson had been clear "everybody has a part to play" to prevent the need for stricter measures.

And he said pictures of big crowds in Liverpool at the weekend were a single incident which was dealt with quickly by police.

Asked if the curfew was working well across the country, the PM's spokesman said: "I'm pointing you to the comments from the police in Merseyside in relation to once incident that got a lot of coverage over the weekend.

"The rules were introduced for a reason. I think the PM was clear when he addressed the nation on Tuesday that everybody does have a part to play and that we do all need to pull together and by doing so we can hopefully help to prevent the need for further restrictions."

The PM's spokesman said the 10pm closing rule was to prevent people staying out late and it had been trialled in local lockdown areas already.

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The move "strikes the right balance" between allowing pubs and restaurants to trade and preventing social distancing from breaking down.

Pressed on whether there were plans to review the curfew, the PM's spokesman said: "No. I would say that we keep all of our social distancing measures under review but no there is nothing in that regard."