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May leads fight against “reckless” laws for late-night drinking
Theresa May MP continues to lead the fight against the Government's controversial plans to liberalise drinking laws, having held a special debate in Parliament last week.

Theresa commented; “In the last year alone violent attacks in the Royal Borough have risen by 25%. Last year more than 2,100 people were the victims of such assaults. 50% of all the violent crime on our streets is due to alcohol and it is absurd that the Government are pressing ahead with extended licensing hours at a time when they have manifestly failed to get a grip of the binge-drinking culture that causes so many terrible problems.

“As I pointed out in Parliament last week, the cost to the taxpayer of alcohol fuelled crime and disorder now stands at £12 billion a year! Senior judges and police officers have opposed this legislation, and I believe that it is time that the Government listen to the concerns we have expressed and reconsider their ill-thought-out and potentially dangerous policy."


ENDS


Notes to Editors

Concerns over new licensing laws

The Licensing Act 2003, due to come into effect fully at the end of November, has attracted grave warnings from judges and many police forces.

Judges: “Those who routinely see the consequences of drink-fuelled violence in offences of rape, grievous bodily harm and worse on a daily basis, are in no doubt that an escalation of offences of this nature will inevitably be caused by the relaxation of liquor licensing which the Government has now authorised. We regard it as simply wishful thinking to suppose that the introduction of the Licensing Act will bring about the cultural change which Government envisages” (Council of Her Majesty’s Circuit Judges Submission to Home Office consultation paper, Drinking Responsibly, June 2005).

Police Federation: “Most nights of the week our officers are overwhelmed by a sea of drunken, violent, vomiting yobs who when they’re not fighting each other are falling through shop windows. That’s now. What's it going to be like when we have a licensing free-for-all ?” (Glen Smyth, Chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, Daily Mail, 21 October 2005).

Metropolitan Police: “Considering those who will commit crime as a result of alcohol consumption or with it as a contributing factor, there will be a significant proportion of drinkers (both social and binge) that will become victims of crime. Many of the same factors that affect those who go on to commit crime will be factors in those who are victims, as people become more relaxed through drink they may lose awareness of possession and are at risk of theft. Also as people lose inhibitions, they become more susceptible to coercion and less able to make rational judgements, which may lead to assault either violent or sexual, personality changes brought about by alcohol may also lead to conflict” (Metropolitan Police, Clubs & Vice Operational Command Unit, Preliminary Assessment of the Impact of the Licensing Act 2003 on the Metropolitan Police Service, September 2003, p.14).




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