Thousands who once came to the city to work will now fall victim to a new regulation which raised the minimum salary threshold for a skilled work visa from £26,000 to £38,700.

In April, strict new post-Brexit rules came into force preventing thousands of Italian waiters from moving to the capital to work in restaurants.

New British regulation raised the minimum salary threshold for a skilled work visa from £26,000 to £38,700, beyond the pay for many restaurants which operate with tight margins.

Meanwhile, in January, it was reported that there were more than 10 venue closures every day, with industry data revealing that the number of licensed premises in Britain fell by 3.6 per cent from 103,682 to 99,916 in the year to September.

The hospitality industry is crumbling under the joint pressures of rocketing energy, rent, food bills, staff shortages, and no-show bookings amid the ongoing cost of living crisis and the after-effects of COVID-19 and Brexit.

Last year, a survey by the Office for National Statistics laid bare the damage done to the industry by leaving the EU. In just two years the number of jobs held by EU nationals in food and accommodation services fell by 25 per cent.