Camra insists fears over stamping fail to measure up

The Campaign For Real Ale (Camra) has moved to quash rumours that the change-over from a crown stamp to a CE mark on a pint glass is an attempt to introduce metric measures by stealth.

The crown stamp has stood as a guarantee that a glass is the correct size for over 300 years, but began being replaced by the European Union standard CE stamp last year. "It is sad from a nostalgia point of view, but the pint itself is safe, as Britain has a derogation for draught pints of beer and cider," said Camra's research and information manager Iain Loe.

"Once, almost every town had its own weights and measures office stamping glasses, but when the crown was phased out there was only one office left."

Loe added that the vast majority of glasses were now manufactured abroad and so carried the CE stamp automatically. "Our main concern is that customers get served full pints, whether in an oversized glass or full to the brim. Some measures are served so short they could almost be half-litres and not pints."