Robert Feal-Martinez

The Wiltshire licensee is an outspoken critic of the pub smoking ban. He believes that the legislation fails to take account of public opinion, making it undemocratic

I have been on this planet for 55 years, and have seen quite a few governments, both Labour and Conservative. It is expected that Conservative governments will support business, and Labour will support the people.

However, I never expected a Labour Government to impose so many restraints and constraints on civil liberties. As an industry we have been subject to regulation after regulation. I have just wasted three hours of my time listening to Food Standards Agency policy that is inferior to current Food Safety Legislation, but it was free advice.

We have been let down time and time again by those who purport to represent us. They take the easy line, saying it's better to be part of the discussion rather than on the outside. A fat lot of good it has done us.

Security Industry Authority, Disability Discrimination Act and Licensing Act - our trade bodies have been party to all those and who has picked up the tab?

However the biggest sell-out of all has been the proposed smoking ban. Three-quarters of the UK wanted choice. They wanted smoking, no-smoking and well ventilated pubs. We as an industry repeatedly asked for an indoor air quality standard. The Government didn't deliver. But we were told by BII, the FLVA and others that the Department of Health were listening. Indeed Health Minister Patricia Hewitt appeared to be doing just that when she said: "My Hon. Friend is right. It is also the case that about 95% of the deaths that result from passive smoking occur as a result of passive smoking in people's homes, not in public places or in membership clubs."

Why then are we looking at a ban in public places including pubs? Is this Government so corrupt or so perverse as to introduce legislation that would condemn the most vulnerable group to an increase in health risk? Perhaps it is just that they know that passive smoking causes little harm, as the World Health Organisation said in their own study: "There is no evidence that childhood exposure to passive smoking causes long-term health problems."

Could we have been lied to? Freedom to Choose is doing what no trade body has done - we are expressing the views of licensees and the public who want to see democracy returned to Great Britain. We are meeting with the House of Lords and will hopefully receive a sympathetic ear. All we ask is the truth, something democracy should be based on.