An Aberdeen bar owner has criticised the city council after he was refused permission to stay open and show the referendum coverage throughout the night.
Gary Noble, of Epic Group, which runs The Monkey House in Union Street, said councillors on the licensing board could have been more “forward thinking” when considering his bid.
It comes after eight pubs in Edinburgh were granted permission to stay open during the historic count, with the final result due to be announced between 6am and 7am.
But councillors in Aberdeen rejected applications for the late licence from both The Monkey House, who had wanted to stay open until 2am, and Korova on Bridge Street.
They were turned down on the grounds of potential “crime and disorder.”
Councillor Marie Boulton, deputy leader of the council and convener of the licensing board, said it was felt unwise to “mix alcohol and emotion” in the city centre.
But Mr Noble said the concerns were unwarranted.
Mr Noble said: “The referendum is obviously the biggest thing to have happened in Scotland for some time and we applied to stay open longer for the occasion.
“We were knocked back on the grounds of crime and disorder.
“We are a pub and we sell alcohol but the normal rules would apply in terms of not serving drunk people.
“We understand that passions are high but the Scottish Police Federation has come out dismissing reports of crime and
disorder during the campaign.
“I just think the council could have been a bit more progressive on this.”
Mrs Boulton said last night: “We looked at the application and considered the mix of alcohol and emotion and thought it was not best appropriate.”
She said it was not necessary to keep the bar open longer, particularly given that it would be closed at the time of the referendum result.