Cameron claims pub closures a 'serious issue'

Prime Minister David Cameron has expressed concern about the high rate of pub closures claiming it is a "serious issue".

According to a report in the Oxford Mail, Cameron dropped into the reopening of the Fox in Leafield, near Witney, last Thursday night for a pint. The pub was closed by Admiral Taverns in January. This prompted regulars to launch a Facebook page calling for the venue, which is the only pub in the village to be reopened. Almost half the village's population (325 signatures) signed the Facebook page, which persuaded co-owner Nigel Braithwaite to run it as an independent freehold.

Cameron said: "The high rate of pub closures is a serious issue and it must come down.

"I was so pleased to be able to attend the reopening of The Fox in Leafield. Our pubs are often the heart of our villages and this is a great example of a community coming together to save something they value."

Landlord Geordie Mynehan, from Abingdon, said: "Mr Cameron said how glad he was that the pub had opened back up, he obviously knew it from before."