Letter from Ted Tuppen to David Blunkett

Letter from Ted Tuppen, chief executive of Enterprise Inns to Home Secretary David Blunkett, calling for pay-for-policing plans to be dropped.

Dear Mr Blunkett,

Over the past 24 hours I have twice been reminded by your fellow ministers of your continuing desire to introduce yet another stealth tax, this time calling upon the pub industry to pay for policing.

Why do you seek to alienate a responsible industry which provides 630,000 jobs in the United Kingdom and contributes £22bn annually to the Treasury?

Have no doubts, along with the vast majority of licensees in this country, I am utterly fed up with the anti-social behaviour encountered in some town centres, caused in part by excessive drinking, sometimes fuelled by a handful of unprofessional licensees and their irresponsible promotions.

However, your call for licensees to pay for policing is misdirected on two counts. Firstly, more policing may indeed patch over and manage the problem, but will not solve it. Secondly, you will alienate the responsible majority by asking them to pay for the actions of the irresponsible few.

The solution lies in your hands and I strongly urge you to seek to solve, not manage the problem.

The police, magistrates and local authorities already have powers to deal with pubs which are badly run or have promotional policies which encourage excessive drinking. The solution is simple - revoke their licences and shut these pubs down.

I am sure that such a proposal would attract the support of every responsible licensee in the country and give a clear indication to the general public that the government and the pub industry is committed to tackling anti-social behaviour.

And while you are considering this suggestion to help solve, not patch over the problem, can I also put firmly into your mind that the British pub is not the pariah which you seek to suggest but the home of responsible drinking.

I would urge you to find out and do something about the drunkenness and anti-social behaviour that is fuelled by the totally unrestricted consumption of heavily discounted alcohol supplied by supermarkets, corner shops and indeed the black market.

The licensed trade is on your side and we are willing allies in helping to find the solution to your problem.

Yours sincerely

G E Tuppen