Under the relaxed regulations, businesses were able to serve customers through hatches when they were forced to close in 2020 to restrict the spread of Covid.

The rules were due to expire in September but Rishi Sunak is said to have decided to enable them to continue.

The Prime Minister said: “I’ve heard the British pub industry loud and clear – takeaway pints are a boost for their businesses and our economy.

“That’s why they’re here to stay.”

The move, which was aimed at helping the crippled hospitality sector boost sales during Covid, has already been extended twice.

It means establishments will not need to make a separate application to local councils for the extra licence needed for off-site sales.

Many pubs and bars have struggled to recover following the pandemic as they face rising energy and other costs and concerns over falling sales amid the cost-of-living crisis.

The intervention comes after Mr Sunak was heckled during a visit to a beer festival in West London on Tuesday, when he was seeking to promote a shake-up of the alcohol duty regime that will increase tax on a range of drinks.

First set out by Mr Sunak when he was chancellor in 2021, the new system aims to encourage drinkers to cut back by taxing all alcohol based on its strength.

It will see duty rise by 44p on a bottle of wine, which when combined with VAT will mean consumers will pay an extra 53p, according to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA).

Duty on 18 per cent cream sherry will go up from £2.98 to £3.85, with VAT adding up to an increase of more than £1 a bottle, while a bottle of port will go up by more than £1.50.

The total tax on a bottle of gin or vodka will go up by around 90p.

The Government is cutting the duty charged on draught pints across the UK by 11p in August in a major boost for pubs and draught beer drinkers, which Mr Sunak hailed as beneficial to “thousands of businesses across the country”.

Yorkshire pubs to continue selling takeaway pints as Covid licensing rules are retained