Chase thugs not staff, says pub boss

McMullen boss Peter Furness-Smith has been left fuming with the response he received from a strongly worded letter to the Home Office about test-purchase operations.

Back in January, the MD of the Hertfordshire-based brewer and operator had outlined his concerns that bar staff are under constant threat of fines for serving minors, while thugs who cause violence are let off.

He cited the example of a barman who was fined £80 for serving a minor during a sting operation at the Lord Kitchener in Barnet, London.

McMullen and the designated premises supervisor were taken to court, but acquitted.

A few months later, staff at McMullen's Fishery pub in Elstree, Hertfordshire, suffered injuries and abuse from a group of people after refusing to serve a man who seemed drunk. Two group members gave themselves up - and were let off with a caution.

Chief Inspector Karen Ravenscroft replied on behalf of the Home Office, claiming that test-purchase operations were necessary and had been a success, as the failure rate had fallen from 50% to 20%.

"It is essential that those who attempt underage purchases today do not grow up to be tomorrow's violent drunks, and for this reason we have to continue to adopt a robust approach," she said.

However, Furness-Smith was "disappointed" with the response and believes he has wasted his time. "Those of us in the real world know the vast majority of pubs are responsibly run and the major cause of increasing alcohol abuse and related disorder is the widespread availability of very cheap alcohol, consumed in unsupervised environments.

"My team will, I am sure, remain concerned about the continued assault by our elected representatives on those of us working in the pub industry," he said.

He told the Home Office: "We believe that your ap-proach will be counter-

productive and hinder the ambition of our industry to become a first-choice career for young people."