Pub Trade Attacks Govenments Lop-sided Mandatory Code

Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said pubs were being unfairly targeted.

“Pubs are at the heart of responsible retailing and are being demonised because this is easy, in terms of legislation,” she said.

The group has “consistently supported legislation to crack down on irresponsible promotions in pubs and supermarkets”, she said.

But Simmonds added: “With nearly 70 per cent of all alcohol now sold through supermarkets, the pub-centric measures announced today are lop-sided and unbalanced.

Meanwhile, Paul Smith, executive director of late-night operator trade group Noctis, said a possible jail term for breaching parts of the code were “completely out of kilter” and “farcical”.

“If we’d seen there was going to be jail terms we would have made a massive issue of that,” he said.

Addressing the code’s heavy bias against the on-trade, Smith added: “It’s pretty disgusting really if you look at where the majority of alcohol is being sold, which is the off-trade.”