A beauty salon owner who is brazenly flouting Covid-19 restrictions has said she would rather be ‘concreted in’ than stop trading,

Julie Saunderson, who is described as the ‘queen’ of Liverpool’s anti-lockdown movement, runs ‘maskless’ boutique Skin Kerr.

The business in Sefton has displayed posters saying ‘you can’t catch what doesn’t exist’, describing Covid-19 as a ‘voodoo virus’.

Council officials and police have repeatedly visited the salon after being alerted to the lack of precautions but the owner said she has only had to close for one day since defying the rules shortly after the first lockdown.

She has also flouted a ban on non-essential businesses trading during the four-week restrictions in England which began in November.

Under laws passed in the summer, face coverings must be worn by staff in premises offering care and beauty treatments.

Skin Kerr is in a tier two area but the Covid denier said even if another national lockdown is imposed she will continue without any precautions such as PPE or a ban on cash payments at the salon in Bootle.

Speaking to the Eyes Wide Open YouTube channel, she described herself as a ‘critical thinker’ who initially complied with the first lockdown before deciding it was ‘all nonsense’.

Described by the channel as the ‘Queen of Liverpool’s anti-Covid resistance’, the Merseysider claimed Government scientists were acting in a ‘cloak and dagger’ way and she did not trust the Covid testing regime.

Action taken against her salon amounted to a one-day prohibition order which led to the salon shutting when it was due to close anyway, she said.

Mrs Saunderson told the channel: ‘That’s the last I’ve heard of it.’

According to the salon’s Facebook page, it was open for business as usual as of Christmas Eve.

The refusenik said: ‘Regardless of people’s opinions the salon is actually doing alright, there’s a good team. I won’t be closing, they’re going to have to concrete me in or concrete the shop closed.

‘Hopefully the business will go from strength to strength and I foresee us staying open through any lockdowns which is quite good for business in the fact that it attracts people who are of like mind and we end up with a client base we want to be around as well.’

Hair, beauty and nail salons can remain open in tier two areas, but should follow the Government’s Covid-secure guidance for close contact services.

Guidance states: ‘As an employer, you have a legal responsibility to protect workers and others from risk to their health and safety, including from the risks of COVID-19.’

Companies that defy the rules risk fines that can escalate to thousands of pounds for repeat offenders. In West Yorkshire, the owner of a hair salon was fined £27,000 after staying open during the second lockdown.

Quinn Blakey Hairdressing was described as ‘selfish and irresponsible’ by Kirklees Council.

According to official figures, Sefton has recorded 314 positive Covid cases in the most recent seven-day period available, with the number rising by a third since the start of December.

A spokesperson for Sefton Council said: ‘Communities across the Liverpool City Region have worked together to maintain the area’s tier two risk status during the festive period, including businesses in Sefton.

‘The local authority has worked with those businesses to enable them to operate in a Covid secure way to meet regulations.

‘Any businesses in breach of these regulations are putting staff and customers at risk, and will be dealt with via the appropriate procedures.’

Metro.co.uk has approached Skin Kerr and Merseyside Police for comment.

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