BII chief: "Government will never help us

The chairman of the BII has urged licensees to stand on their own two feet and not expect help from the government.

Speaking at the annual BII lunch at the Grosvenor House in London today Martin Grant said he could not see the government ever helping the industry.

"Last year I talked about the need for government to listen to our needs and quite frankly they haven't and they never will," he said.

"There are a number of stories about the number of pubs closing and it's quite frightening but we are not going to get help from over the road (in Westminster).

"The pub industry is about being entrepreneurial and standing on your own two feet. That's what's going to happen.

"We are going to improve, we are going to change. The pub will survive but it will look very different in five years time. It looks very different now to what it did 10 or 15 years ago."

He added: "We are here to help you. The BII is first and last about licensees."

BII chief executive Neil Robertson added that he also expected the industry and the BII to adapt.

"We are not a sunset industry. We will be here in 400 years time and looking different I am sure."

And guest speaker Nick Hewer - Sir Alan Sugar's right-hand man on TV show The Apprentice - spoke about the need for innovation.

"You have got to improve, you have got to innovate. Maybe in the pub business you reduce choice but increase quality."

At the event the winners of The Publican​-backed 2008 BII NITAs were presented with their awards. The Supreme Award for overall winner for excellence in training was handed to retail company C J Lang & Son.

A raffle at the Sky-sponsored lunch raised £10,000 for the Licensed Trade Charity.