The latest Covid-19 restrictions announced for Northern Ireland have been branded “unacceptable and unforgivable” by a leading business representative organisation. Belfast Chamber of Commerce heavily criticised the fact that no additional financial support package was agreed to accompany the measures. Chief Executive Simon Hamilton, a former DUP minister in the Stormont Executive, said businesses had already suffered significant losses due to heighted consumers fears about the prospect of a lockdown. “For weeks now, businesses who have experienced a difficult 2021, have been subjected to a drip feed of speculation and scaremongering about possible lockdowns and further restrictions,” he said. “As the rhetoric ramped up, the impact on businesses was very real as millions of pounds of trade disappeared, causing owners and their teams huge distress. “Today, the Executive has added insult to injury. As well as having to deal with the impact of additional measures, businesses haven’t been offered a …