Pubs don't just 'deposit drunks', Diageo director claims

Peter O’Brien, who is corporate relations director at the drinks company, also denied that there is a correlation between the cost of alcohol and responsible drinking.

Speaking at the Ascension Trust’s street pastors practitioners conference in Manchester last week, O’Brien said: “You can say [publicans] are the people that deposit our drunk people. Or you can say those are the people that are putting on a great night for 90% and help the people who, for whatever reason, have had too much to drink.

'Part of the solution'​

“I know there are a bunch of people thinking why we are we listening to a drinks industry man? Is he not part of the problem? I think we’re part of the solution.”

When asked by a conference delegate if there is a correlation between the cost of a unit of alcohol and responsible drinking, he added: “The simple answer is no, genuinely.

“When you’re at a nightclub, that’s the most expensive alcohol you can get. The cheapest place to drink alcohol in Europe is Germany and they don’t have our problem.”

Ascension Trust CEO Les Isaac praised the partnership between street pastors and the pub trade and urged for this “togetherness” to continue.

“It’s about creating these partnerships to say how we can make our communities safer. It’s together we are going to make a change, to ensure the industry stays in business and our young people get home safe.”