Chairman of drinks chain hits out at 'war' on pubs

Tim Martin of Wetherspoons accused Ministers of adopting a "draconian" response to the problem of binge drinking, which was driving

responsible landlords out of business.

He highlighted new rules coming into effect later this month, which he said could see landlords and pub managers stripped of their licences if they were caught twice selling alcohol to under-age drinkers posing as customers in police sting operations.

Mr Martin said a large chain like Wetherspoons was able to defend attempts to remove its licences, while individual publicans might not be able to.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The Government has launched a war against pubs, which is really stupid.

"What they have tried to do is to say there is a binge drinking problem in this country – which is true – and therefore we are going to crack down on pubs.

"The irony is, it makes binge drinking worse because people are driven out of pubs, where at least it is supervised, where at least you can't misbehave too badly, and people are drinking on the streets and in their homes. It is sad for Britain."

Mr Martin urged Ministers to rethink laws which impose tough penalties on landlords for what he regarded as relatively minor transgressions.

"I want them to acknowledge that pubs, when responsibly run, are an important part of the community and take away the more draconian penalties that they have," he said.

Martin also accused the Government of handling the general

economy "appallingly badly", saying the Chancellor had failed when the financial and housing markets got overheated.