MPs: Pubco inquiry long overdue
Anti-pubco MP Tim Farron said the Fair Pint campaign group is "pushing at an open door for another select committee hearing".
Farron was hosting the official launch of the Fair Pint group, which wants the tie removed from all pubs, except those owned by brewers with fewer than 500 sites.
The campaign calls for the voluntary recommendations of the 2004 Trade & Industry Select Committee (TISC) report into pubco power, relating to how tenants are treated, to be made mandatory.
There is a growing concern in Parliament about the power of the pubcos and how they are exploiting landlordsNicholas WintertonTory MP
"MPs on TISC are angry and affronted that their recommendations have been disregarded by people who think they can do what they want," said Farron.
Tory MP sir Nicholas Winterton added: "There is a growing concern in Parliament about the power of the pubcos and how they are exploiting landlords.
"I believe an inquiry is long overdue."
The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Select Committee, formerly the Department for Trade and Industry, is currently looking at energy prices.
So, any pubco inquiry would not take place before the Autumn.
Level playing field
Fair Pint is headed by well-known anti-pubco campaigners — accountant Brian Jacobs, Freedom for Pubs Association founder Mike Bell and surveyor David Morgan of Cookseys DMP, alongside pubco tenants Mark Dodds and Steve Corbett.
"We have been heartened by the level of support we have received from publicans around the country, Parliamentarians and trade bodies," said Jacobs.
"Even though we are only at the beginning of our campaign - we are confident that fairness, and a need for a level playing field, will win through in the end.
"It is time for the pubco model to be reviewed to reflect what is really going on in 2008.
"It is clear that so many tied publicans are struggling, not just because of the smoking ban, beer duty or cut price booze in supermarkets, but because they are tied."
The group is believed to be backed by a well-known mystery benefactor.
