Van Morrison to start legal action against Northern Irish government over live music Covid ban

Ellie Harrison
·2 min read
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Van Morrison performs during Music For The Marsden 2020 at The O2 Arena on 3 March, 2020 (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
Van Morrison performs during Music For The Marsden 2020 at The O2 Arena on 3 March, 2020 (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Van Morrison plans to start legal action against the Northern Irish government over its “blanket ban” on live music due to coronavirus restrictions, his lawyer announced on Tuesday (19 January).

The musician’s solicitor Joe Rice said Morrison will ask the high court in Belfast to review the policy “on behalf of the thousands of musicians, artists, venues and those involved in the live music industry”.

“We will be seeking leave for judicial review to challenge the blanket ban on live music in licensed premises in Northern Ireland,” Rice said. “We’re not aware of any credible scientific or medical evidence to justify this particular blanket ban… and we’re going to challenge this in the high court.”

This is not the first time the singer-songwriter has pushed back on lockdown measures. Last September, he condemned scientists for spreading “crooked facts” about coronavirus in a series of anti-lockdown songs titled “No More Lockdown”, “Born to Be Free” and “As I Walked Out”.

“I’m not telling people what to do or think, the government is doing a great job of that already,” Morrison said in a statement. “It’s about freedom of choice. I believe people should have the right to think for themselves.”

Deaths from coronavirus hit a grim record on Tuesday, the day Morrison announced his plans for legal action, with daily fatalities reaching a high of 1,610 across the UK.

Antibody data suggested that one in eight people in England had been infected with coronavirus at some point in the pandemic up to December, in what one expert described as “one of the worst coronavirus problems in the world”.

Boris Johnson told his cabinet that while infection rates were declining, the UK remains in a “very serious” situation, with the swift rollout of vaccines the key to reducing pressure on the NHS and reopening society.

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