A Scottish licensee is leading a last-ditch attempt to block the Scottish Executive from bringing in a full public smoking ban next month.
Don Lawson, licensee at Johnny Foxes in Inverness, along with Alan Bowes, executive chairman of pub group London & Edinburgh Inns, is trying to force a judicial review into the ban.
Mr Lawson, who co-founded the Publican Party as a protest against the ban last year, is det-ermined to make one last stand against the plans, which become law on March 26. "We don't believe Scotland has the devolved powers to do it," he said. "The ban is unfair and the timescale unreasonable. Indiv-iduals should have the right to smoke."
Mr Lawson, who failed in his bid to be elected as an MSP last May, claims the consultation carried out by the Scottish Exec-utive was flawed. He also pointed to a separate survey by the Executive which found 82 per cent of the population had voted against a full ban. Mr Lawson said a meeting with their legal team had been held and they would look at submitting papers calling for a judicial review in the next few weeks. "We are taking it one stage at a time," he added.
If the legal challenge collapses then the campaigners will take the decision to appeal, failing that to the House of Lords and possibly even on to Brussels.
Paul Waterson, chief executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA), said he would look with interest at the legal challenge and wished them luck. But he added: "We have got to act as though the ban is coming in." Mr Waterson's main concern is still the lack of consistency from the Executive over smoking shelters. The SLTA fears that local councils will adopt their own policies in relation to allowing shelters. "The ban is a matter of weeks away, but the situation is still unsatisfactory," Mr Waterson added.
Pictured: Don Lawson, left, at the time he set up the Publican Party with Kit Fraser.