Gary Neville hits out at Mayor of London Sadiq Khan on impact of Covid-19

The former Manchester United captain owns a number of hotels across the country

Gary Neville has hit out at Mayor of London Sadiq Khan regarding the struggles faced by the hospitality sector during lockdown. Khan posted a tweet from his official Mayor of London account which highlighted the 'devastating' impact Covid-19 has had on the industry. Khan's tweet read: "A new report I commissioned shows Covid-19 has been devastating for central London's economy, with retail, hospitality, culture & night time industries hit the hardest. When London thrives, the whole country thrives. It's vital the Govt supports our city's businesses to recover." Former Man Utd captain Neville responded by asking "Where have you been for 12 months?" https://twitter.com/GNev2/status/1356592802994548738?s=20 Since retiring, Gary Neville has built up an extensive property portfolio. He owns a number of hotels and bars across England, and is also a co-owner of League Two outfit Salford City alongside former Manchester United 'Class of '92' teammates Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and brother Phil Neville. This isn't the first time Neville has taken aim at those in positions of power. He previously called the current Tory government the 'biggest set of charlatans to ever be elected'. On December 17th 2020, when Manchester was plunged into a Tier 3 lockdown while London remained in Tier 2, Sky Sports pundit Neville tweeted: "They released 5 key criteria 2 weeks ago to measure Tiers by. Manchester is lower than many T2 areas were 2 weeks ago. Today the government ignored their own criteria. The biggest set of charlatans to be ever elected." Sadiq Khan's report comes amidst concerns of further coronavirus mutations spreading across England. Yesterday, door-to-door swab tests began in parts of Surrey after two people with no links to South Africa were found to have caught that country's Covid-19 variant. These tests are also expected to be rolled out into parts of London, Kent, Hertfordshire and Walsall in the West Midlands. Today, Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons that 'mutations of concern' had also been found in Liverpool and Bristol.