Tesco: we WANT a ban on cut-price booze
Tesco has laid down the gauntlet to the other supermarkets with an announcement that it is actively calling for a law banning the sale of cut-price alcohol.
The extraordinary move, confirmed by Tesco today, comes after months of pressure on supermarkets to do something about the rock-bottom alcohol prices which many fear have been fuelling binge-drinking.
A spokeswoman for the supermarket giant confirmed reports that it now supported legislation to ensure "responsible pricing of alcohol among off-trade retailers", although it is refusing to strike out and raise prices on its own.
The supermarket may be pre-empting government action following an announcement from Prime Minister Gordon Brown last year that the effect of below-cost selling of alcohol was under investigation in an independent review, due to report in April.
Tesco claims that the issue can only be dealt with by the government as competition laws bar the supermarkets from taking action together.
Corporate and legal affairs director Lucy Neville-Rolfe told The Daily Telegraph: "Supermarkets do sell a lot of alcohol and we accept that we have a role to play in addressing the problem of anti-social drinking.
"Competition law prevents businesses discussing anything to do with price with each other and imposes severe penalties on anyone who breaches it.
"The only safe solution is for the government to initiate and lead those discussions and to bring forward legislative proposals which Tesco and others in our industry can support."
Speaking on last night's Richard Bacon show on BBC Radio Five Live, The Publican's managing editor Daniel Pearce said the announcement would be welcome news for the pub industry following months of lobbying on the issue.
Last December Labour MP John Grogan, the chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group, described Tesco chief executive Terry Leahy as "the godfather of British binge-drinking" during a House of Commons debate.
