Children will be advised to lie about their age during sting operations in certain circumstances after all, the Morning Advertiser can reveal.
Local government co-ordinator LACORS has been forced into a dramatic U-turn on its guidance for councils on sting operations, following pressure from the Home Office, senior police and local authorities.
The updated LACORS guidance on test purchase schemes will advise that if asked, children should give a false date of birth.
But this will only apply in "exceptional circumstances", where pubs and off-licences repeatedly serve under-18s.
A LACORS spokeswoman told the Morning Advertiser councils should let test purchasers lie "where there is evidence that a retailer is continually selling age-restrictive goods to children and they are aware of the test purchasing programme".
However, a copy of the draft LACORS guidance - leaked exclusively to the Morning Advertiser last
month - said children "must be told to answer any questions that the seller may ask about their age truthfully".
Explaining the U-turn, the LACORS spokeswoman said: "Following views expressed by the Home Office, the Trading Standards Institute, ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) and some local authorities, LACORS decided that this option should be available for authorities."
MA legal expert Peter Coulson said: "I think this has come about as a result of pressure, particularly from the Home Office. The murky hand of the Home Office is in this, clearly."
He added: "One has to ask what the objective of test purchasing is. It's not to dupe the licensee, it's to ensure they are wary of selling to people who are under 18."
For more on this story see this week's Morning Advertiser.