Brown admits to "problems" over licensing laws

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he "will not hesitate" to make changes to the new licensing laws and admitted there were "problems".

In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, said: "Where there are things that are wrong and where mistakes have been made we will look at these things and change these things. I will not hesitate to change policy if I think that we have to make these changes in the interests of the country."

He added: "Generally speaking in some areas where we have looked at it, it has worked but there are problems and we have got to look whether the answer is to change that or to make changes in other areas."

However he ruled out raising the legal drinking age to 21. "I don't think that is going to solve the problem," he said.

A government review of the Licensing Act is expected to report back by the end of the year.

During the interview, Brown also pointed the finger at shops on the issue of underage selling. "I want to be very tough with those shops that are selling alcohol to teenagers, they should lose their licence and they should lose it for a long time," he said. "That's what's contributing to binge-drinking in our cities in towns and our communities."

But he also called for the industry to assist. "We also need the drinks industry to help us to educate young people about binge drinking and the dangers of excessive drinking," he added.