John Hamilton, who owns Bar Pop in Manchester, admitted voting for Brexit in 2016. But he has since changed his mind and claims that the UK should never have left the EU.

Speaking to Byline TV, he moaned: “We can’t get the staff.

“We can’t get the minimum wage staff.

“We just can’t, you know.

“We’ve just noticed this year – certainly around hospitality – we had a meeting. A discussion about it. And literally (there) is not enough staff to run (the bar).

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One person raged: “He’s p***ed because he can’t pay slave labour wages anymore while he flounces around in luxury.

“No sympathy at all, none.”

Another said: “He’ll not be short of staff if he actually pays a real living wage.

“I get the impression he wouldn’t have given a hoot about how Brexit affected others until it affected him, I feel a bit mean saying it but I’ve got little to no sympathy for him.”

Meanwhile a third pointed out: “Can’t get staff on minimum wage? How about paying more than the minimum wage? No sympathy….”

Mr Hamilton is not the only business owner working in hospitality to complain about staff shortages.

Overall, the number of online job adverts in the UK has surged to 118 percent of its pre-pandemic average in recent weeks, according to official figures.

According to the jobs website Indeed, the biggest increase is in food preparation and service vacancies, which are up 507 percent since the government’s roadmap was announced in February.

Vacancies have also risen in warehouse work, as online shopping remains popular.

Pawel Adrjan, head of European research at Indeed, told the Guardian: “We’re seeing a big bottleneck in the jobs market right now because the easing of restrictions has given many sectors a shot in the arm to go on a hiring spree.

“The big question is whether this is permanent or temporary.”