First they came for the smokers, now having driven the smokers out of the office, the workplace and even the company van; the uber-state thinks its time that its minions watched what we drink.
From the morning advertiser
A national campaign to plant undercover cops in pubs to catch staff serving drunks could sound the death knell for the British pub – that’s the view of one trade leader.
A pilot project is currently underway in Blackpool and the MA can reveal that Home Office funding will be available for a national campaign running from November through to Christmas.
But police are still not providing a clear definition of what constitutes being drunk despite being able to issue £80 on-the-spot fines to staff and call for a licence review.
“This could be the death of the British pub,” said Bar Entertainment & Dance Association executive director Paul Smith. “I think it will further accelerate the shift to drinking at home and a lot of licensees will lock the doors and go home. I hope trade bodies stand united to fight this.”
The Blackpool pilot scheme began last week after police claimed they had already witnessed drunks being served. Police said they would also issue fines to the drunks.
“It’s a disgrace,” blasted Blackpool licensee and National Association of Licensed House Managers president Dave Daly.
“The pubwatch has told the police we need more time to train staff because it is so hard to spot a drunk and even harder to challenge them. In 30 years of challenging drunks I have never known one accept the decision lightly.
“And if there is an altercation will the police break their cover to help out? It is so hard getting staff, and now more will leave because they are frightened of an £80 fine.”
Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers chief executive Nick Bish added: “This is not in the spirit of co-operation between stakeholders. We know we can not serve drunks but the problem has always been in defining drunk – it is a subjective term.”
British Beer & Pub Association chief executive Rob Hayward said: “We are currently seeking clarification of the nature of this campaign and are trying to ensure that it follows an appropriate course.”
Federation of Licensed Victuallers Association chief executive Tony Payne stressed that training would be the key to avoiding fines. “Even a part-timer who works three hours a week can lose you your licence these days, so proper and constant training is crucial. Before the Licensing Act, our training manual was 12 pages, now it is 60 pages.”
**You would think that they would be better employed responding to 999 calls, catching criminals and doing the things that police are supposed to do. Still that's the nanny state for you, ever prying, ever vigilant that someone someplace might just be doing something that is disapproved of.
Tags: Nanny State, Big Brother, Pubwatch, Immigration, Cool Britannia, Political Correctness
4 people have spoken:
With the smoking ban this is an even greater incentive to drink at home.
When are they going to give everyone RFID chips and put a camera and microphone on everyone's shoulder? It's coming.
They'll never stop stifling and strangling you ey, these leftist scum. The way England is going, you lot are one day just going to have to down tools, just refuse to work, civil disobedience or something, with all these parasites on your back, you'll need to run the place into the ground just to shake them off.
May the day we have a national strike come soon.
Post a Comment