Nearly 1,000 Camden and Haringey eateries took part in the government's half price meals scheme last August, figures reveal.

Eat Out to Help Out was launched to support the hospitality industry, subsidising 50% food discounts in restaurants, pubs and cafes, from Monday to Wednesday.

The scheme was popular with business, but the prime minister conceded it may have contributed to the spread of the virus.

New figures show Camden was sixth in the country for the number of outlets taking part, with 733. In Haringey the number was 224 and in Barnet it was 292. Westminster was top of the list with 1,297 businesses.

Camden was 13th for the number of meals claimed for at 847,000, with discounts valued at £5,279,000.

Haringey eateries claimed for 490,000 meals, while Barnet businesses claimed for 512,000.

In Westminster, eateries claimed for 1,861,000 – with £13,691,000 claimed – but this was fewer than the 1,882,000 meals in Cornwall and 2,158,000 in Birmingham.