THE UK Parliament has announced that Westminster pubs will be exempt from serving alcohol after the 10pm curfew.

It emerged overnight that Westminster’s bars and restaurants would remain open due to an exemption in Boris Johnson's coronavirus rules.

It was disclosed that MPs, Lords and parliamentary staff would be able to continue drinking past the deadline in the Palace of Westminster, because its establishments are classed as workplace canteens.

Staff and customers are also exempt from stringent guidelines on face coverings, which have been applied to other licensed premises, and do not have to provide contact details when entering. 

The regulations announced by the Prime Minister last week include exemptions that "workplace canteens may remain open where there is no practical alternative for staff at that workplace to obtain food".

READ MORE: Westminster Parliament pubs exempt from 10pm coronavirus curfew

A spokesman said: "Alcohol will not be sold after 10pm anywhere on the parliamentary estate."

Catering facilities will, however, continue to serve food after the deadline when the House is sitting.

Health Minister Helen Whately had said she had been unaware that the curfew did not apply to Parliament and seemed unimpressed.

"We in Parliament shouldn't be sitting round late at night drinking. We have got a job to do when we are there," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Senior Conservative backbencher Steve Baker was also critical, and anticipated it would be changed.

"This surely will not last the day, and rightly so," he said.

The SNP's Ronnie Cowan tweeted: "One rule for the public and another for Westminster (sounds familiar)."

The curfew, which came into force in England on Thursday, has proved controversial, with businesses warning their profitability will be jeopardised and police struggling to disperse large crowds forming after the deadline on Saturday night.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has also warned it may be doing "more harm than good", with people piling on to public transport and queuing outside shops to buy more alcohol.

The Speaker of the House of Lords, meanwhile, confirmed that there bars had not been serving alcohol beyond 10 pm.

Norman Fowler tweeted: "We haven’t sold alcohol after 10pm anywhere in the Lords since new rules came in last week. We won’t do so while those rules remain. The bars we closed in the spring remain closed and we have no plans to re-open them."