MP demands pub chief steps down after ‘political pantomime’ jibe

SHAREHOLDERS should demand the resignation of a pub company boss after he accused a House of Commons committee of “political pantomime”, according to a Yorkshire MP. Leeds North West MP Greg Mulholland has condemned Enterprise Inns’ chief executive Ted Tuppen for suggesting the committee had abused parliamentary privilege to “exaggerate, insult and mislead” during an inquiry which was critical of the company’s business practises.

Mr Mulholland, a fierce critic of Enterprise and Mr Tuppen, has been calling for reform to the beer tie, referring to the practice by which companies sell beer at above-market rate to tenants in return for lower rents.

The Business, Innovation and Skills select committee recommended a statutory code of practice for the pub industry in September, claiming that the “deep-seated” problems between pubcos and their tenants had not been sufficiently addressed.

But at a conference earlier this month, Mr Tuppen said he was “still a bit peeved” that the pub companies were not allowed a “basic right of reply” to accusations made against them in evidence by their tenants.

He said that two reviews by the committee, in 2009 and the latest one, were “an affront to our democratic process”.

An Early Day Motion which has been tabled by Mr Mulholland “condemns” the pub boss’s comments and “suggests” shareholders should press for Mr Tuppen’s resignation.