Illegal minimum-pricing schemes operating in UK

During a question and answer session, members of the trade raised concern about the practice.

Lee Le Clercq, the British Beer & Pub Association’s regional secretary for northern England, said: “How can it be right that police officers, charged with enforcing the law, are actively encouraging licensees, some of whom are responding naively, to break the law?

“Whether the Government overturns competition legislation and introduces minimum pricing in this country is a matter for proper national debate and parliamentary legislation.

“It is not something that can be ‘turned on’ in selected towns and cities simply because the local licensing sergeant thinks it’s a good idea.

“Such practices can only end in tears, but it will be licensees — not the police — who will be shedding them and that would be grossly unfair.”

Stephen Walsh, a QC who spoke at the conference, agreed: “If people in a particular area agree among themselves to sell at a minimum price it is an unlawful cartel, it offends against competition law. It only potentially becomes lawful if there is legislation.”

National Pubwatch chairman Steve Baker added: “There is no doubt that some pubwatch schemes have been put under pressure to adopt minimum pricing. That is probably not top-down pressure from the Association of Chief Police Officers or the Government.

“It is usually the local licensing officer who feels it will be a good thing. We are well aware
of the dangers to licensees and pubwatch schemes of adopting it, and that is why we put on our website that we think it is a bad thing because it is not the police that will go to court and face the consequences, it will be the licensees that adopt the measure.”