Banning cheap alcohol will help curb binge drinking
A police chief has launched a stinging attack on the drinks industry and called for the Government to ban the supply of cheap alcohol to help curb the problems caused by binge drinking.
A police chief has launched a stinging attack on the drinks industry and called for the Government to ban the supply of cheap alcohol to help curb the problems caused by binge drinking.
Northumbria Chief Constable Mike Craik argued for legislation to outlaw special promotions and impose minimum prices for the sale of alcohol, along with tougher controls over alcohol advertising.
He said: If governments are prepared to stand by and watch the coal mines, shipyards and steel works go out of business then, on a personal level, if some of the booze industry were to go out of business, I would not lose any sleep over it.
The Tories also demanded more punishment for people who try to buy alcohol in pubs and off-licences when under-age after they conducted research, which revealed that only one in 282,000 young people got an official ticking off.
Shadow Home Secretary David Davis accused ministers of staggering complacency in failing to enforce the law.
His comments came in the week that three youths were jailed for life for kicking father-of-three Gary Newlove to death, in what the judge called a night of drunken aggression.
Mr Craik added: The Government should take the bull by the horns on this issue.
You walk into the supermarket and are faced with mountains of cheap lager. The makers tell me the supermarkets sell it at less than they pay for it.
In other words, they are virtually giving it away. I have little faith in voluntary measures in an industry driven by the need to make profits.
You should not be able to get two drinks for the price of one in the pub and you should not be able to go into a supermarket and buy cans of lager cheaper than it costs to make them.
Last week Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced tougher powers for police to prevent teen binge drinking.
She outlined a package of measures to tackle alcohol-related crime and disorder including a £875,000 national crackdown this week to confiscate drink from under 18s.
More than a million people are refused alcohol in pubs on the grounds of age every month.
In just one leading off-licence chain last year, more than 300,000 were turned away for the same reason and the overall number is thought to be many times higher.
However, according to Government figures the number of prosecutions, cautions or PNDs, for purchasing alcohol illegally under-age last year was just 85, says the Shadow Home Secretary
In 2006, court proceedings were initiated against individuals aged between 10 and 17 on just 10 occasions, while 13 would-be drinkers received a police caution and 62 fixed-fine notices were handed to 16 and 17-year-olds.
Mr Davis said: Under-age drinking damages young people and fuels youth crime. Ministers talk endlessly about cracking down on alcohol-related violence, but these figures show the Governments staggering complacency when it comes to taking the action required.
The Government`s basic failure to enforce the law sends totally the wrong message about under-age drinking and puts the public at risk from the spiralling violence it generates.
Gary Newloves widow Helen also spoke out, calling for the death penalty to be brought back saying her husbands killers should pay the ultimate price for what they did.