Outlaw the tie, says BEC MP

A key member of the Business and Enterprise Committee (BEC) inquiry into pubco power has called for the beer tie to be outlawed.

Labour MP Lindsay Hoyle, who also sat on the 2004 inquiry, has laid his cards firmly on the table in a new Early Day Motion (EDM) ahead of the publication of the BEC report, expected in the next two weeks.

The move adds further weight to rumours of a split on the committee between MPs, including chairman Peter Luff, who believe there should be a second set of beer orders and those who believe the matter should be referred to the Office of Fair Trading.

The EDM could be seen as Hoyle distancing himself from the report, which could be more lenient on the pubcos than he desires, or equally could be a ploy to pile pressure on fellow committee members to side with him.

Hoyle called on the Government to "outlaw the pub tie and allow landlords greater flexibility in the purchasing of alcohol in addition to reviewing the duty placed on alcohol in order that this reflects alcohol volume rather than flat rate increases in duty".

The EDM, tabled this morning, has so far been signed by six MPs including vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group Nigel Evans.

Fair Pint campaigner Steve Corbett said: "This is great news ahead of the report. I think the issues are now really hitting home. I think the MPs are just unsure about what would happen if the tie was removed.

"A world without the tie would be a great place for consumers and licensees to live in."