A Scotch egg would 'probably' count as a substantial meal for the purposes of Covid-19 pub rules, a minister said today.
George Eustice, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said the hearty highland sausage snack would allow pubgoers to order a drink, so long as it was served at a table.
Tier 2 rules mean drinks can only be served in a pub if they're ordered alongside a 'substantial meal' - and punters have to leave once the meal is over.
Mr Eustice said: "I think a Scotch egg probably would count as a substantial meal if there were table service.
"And often that may be as a starter.
"But yes, I think it would."
He went on to say 'substantial meal' was a term known in restaurant and pub licencing: "You can have the concept of a table licence for alcohol that also requires you to have a substantial meal, and that is the model that's being followed."
Previously, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick has said a Cornish pasty would not count as a substantial meal unless it was served with chips and a side salad.
It was confirmed last night that rules will not be relaxed to allow people to ring in the new year.
Heading to the pub or a house party to mark the arrival of 2021, with new guidance for Christmas reiterating "everyone must follow the rules on where you can go".
Westminster and the devolved governments across the UK have agreed to allow a temporary easing of restrictions between December 23 and 27 to allow up to three households to mix.
From Wednesday, all but a few hundred thousand people in England will be in Tiers 2 or 3, banning mixing doors as Boris Johnson's national lockdown comes to an end.
And those measures - which also include a ban on going to the pub unless it serves substantial meals and only with people in your household - must be adhered to in the final days of December and into January 1.
In Tier 3, which consists of around 23.3 million people living in large swathes of the Midlands, North East and North West, pubs and restaurants are closed except for takeaway drinks.
The government's guidance says: "You must follow the rules on where you can go and who you can meet, including on New Year’s Eve.
"Your Christmas bubble will no longer apply."
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