McMullen's hits out at Home Office response

McMullen's HAS hit out at the Home Office, claiming its approach to pubs is both "counter-productive" and "misguided".

Peter Furness-Smith, the Hertford brewer's managing director, has expressed his disappointment at a letter he received back from the Home Office after he accused politicians and law enforcement agencies of failing in their duty to the industry.

In January, in a strongly worded letter, Furness-Smith asked the Home Secretary John Reid to explain the objectives of law enforcement agencies following incidents in two McMullen pubs (The Publican, January 15, 2007).

He was concerned that a staff member at one of his pubs was fined £80 when mistakenly serving alcohol to a 17 year old and was outraged that a group who assaulted three members of staff, at the Fishery in Elstree, North London, on December 9, 2006, were let off with only a caution.

In response chief inspector Karen Ravenscroft of the Home Office, assured Mr Furness-Smith that the perpetrators were issued with a caution which resulted in them having a criminal record.

On his fears about underage sales stings, the letter concluded: "It is essential that those who attempt underage sales purchases today do not grow up to be the violent drunks of tommorrow, and for this reason we have to adopt a robust approach."

Mr Furness-Smith hit back, claiming "those of us who live in the real world know that the vast majority of pubs are responsibly run."

He has assured the Home Office he will brief his team of 1,360 staff who will "use their democratic rights at the forthcoming local elections".