Police chief accuses industry of being 'in denial' over pricing issue

The UK's leading police chief on licensing has accused a senior drinks industry figure of being "in denial" over the link between alcohol pricing and consumption.

Chief constable Jon Stoddart, the Association of Chief Police Officers' (ACPO) lead on licensing, attacked the claim of Bruce Ray, Bacardi Brown Forman Brands' external affairs director and spokesman for the Why Let the Good Times Go Bad campaign, at an industry conference in Central London today.

Ray argued there was "no evidence that would indicate that price and alcohol-related harm is connected", during the "Is Big Society a Partnership?" event.

"There is not a silver bullet to solve the solutions, but obviously we don't want to see brands sold at 12p a unit," said Ray. "The difficulty is there is not an environment we can discuss this," he said, pointing to competition laws.

But Stoddart, incensed by Ray's comments, responded: "Bruce is in denial about this, he is being a denialist. The World Health Organisation and the Sheffield (University) study have shown the impact a 50p a unit minimum can have.

"It shows there would be 46,000 fewer alcohol-related crimes a year." He also highlighted that alcohol was now cheaper in real terms than the 1980s.

Earlier, Stoddart, of Durham Constabulary, pointed the finger firmly at the off-trade.

"When a 15 year-old kid can have £5 and get enough alcohol units to kill them, it's not right," he said. The police chief also railed at the government's supposed ban on below-cost sales, highlighting an investigation by The Guardian​ showing only one discount deal out of nearly 4,000 would be affected by the duty plus VAT formula.

Lesley Pulman, a community activist, also attacked supermarkets and the "24-hour drinking economy". "Off- licences have no social conscience whatsoever," she said. "£8 for 24 cans of lager is outrageous," she added.

Earlier, talking about the annoucment on an alcohol responsibility deal, Vicki Nobles, Diageo's corporate relations director emphasised it was the "first step in the journey". "That is something that is forgotten and completely overlooked by the media," she said.

Meanwhile, Neil Robertson, Best Bar None's chief executive, highlighted the impact the awards scheme has had on reducing problems in town centres - such as Durham - and boosting trade.

He said 102 schemes were now active across the country, but admitted that was "still less than 10 per cent of on-trade outlets".

The event, held at the QEII Conference Centre, Westminster, was jointly organised by Best Bar None, the Home Office, the Association of Town Centre Management and the Wine and Spirit Trade Association.