Entrepreneur Lord Willie Haughey questioned why pubs in the Central Belt were closed while universities remained open despite being a virus hotspot.

The former director of Celtic FC urged for the Scottish Government to work collaboratively with UK Government counterparts and not treat coronavirus as a 'political football'.

And the Labour peer called on politicians to work with businesses in a bid to come up with a plan for recovery from the crisis.

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Lord Haughey, 64, said: "The bit I find difficult is if we say we are going to work on scientific data to inform policy, why were the universities not closed last week?

"Why would you close pubs when the universities have been seen as an absolute hotspot for the virus?

"1,000 kids testing positively in one university, 770 in another - this is the bit the average person in the street does not understand.

"We sit every week and we go 'it is great that we are going with the science'.

"But there is no science saying hospitality has anywhere near the infection rate we have seen in universities.

"The university thing was a blip for everyone, for the UK Government, for the Scottish Government."

"What I would like to see is more political collaboration.

"Covid is not a political football.

"We need to be ready for a plan for the economic recovery.

"If we are not ready, we could just make matters much, much worse."

He is chairman of City Facilities Management City Facilities Management, which turned over more than £1 billion for the first time in its 35-year history, and submitted views to the report of the Advisory Group on Economic Recovery, led by banking veteran Benny Higgins.

Lord Haughey added: "The economic fall-out is going to be substantial.

"I think we just have to be ready.

"Don't wait until that happens. Get engaged with big stakeholders in business so we all can have a plan together on how we can get through this.

"The unemployment figures will frighten people and it will cause great concern to people out there.

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"It would be great if we were working behind the scenes at the moment so that we are ready for that economic recovery plan.

"It would be looking to put some sort of cross-party committee together with big Business and small Business, the CBI, the Chamber of Commerce, get everybody in the room and just throw everything on the table."

"If people think I have something to add I would be delighted to put in my tuppence worth."