What the papers say - June 27, 2007

Scottish & Newcastle, Britain's biggest brewer, has promoted Tim Seager from marketing director of S&N UK to acting managing director of the division following the elevation of John Dunsmore to head of Western Europe - The Times ​

Miller Brewing, part of SAB-Miller, is to take over production of the Foster's Lager and Special Bitter brands sold in the United States from Molson Coors, its Canadian rival, under a ten-year deal with Australia's Foster's Group - The Times​

Diageo, the drinks group, has been fined about £160,000 and had its import licence cancelled by the South Korean tax authorities after dealing with unlicensed wholesalers - The Times​

Carlsberg, the Danish brewer, said the recent change to its statutes by the controlling Carlsberg Foundation meant that it could raise more than £6 billion for acquisitions, although it said that a bid for Scottish & Newcastle, the UK brewer, was "not inevitable" - The Times​

"Monsoon Mayhem" summed up the chaos of Monday's disastrous rains. Worst hit was Bruton on the River Brue, a notorious stretch of river where steep valleys and a narrow bridge over the river funnelled the swollen waters. The riverbanks burst and inundated a large part of the town, causing considerable damage, although nobody was reported killed. One pub still carries a flood mark for 1917 6m (20ft) above normal river level - The Times​

A man who has spent quite a lot of time behind the counter at pubs will now be spending more time in the kitchen, after Mitchells & Butlers put Adam Fowle in charge of its restaurants division. The 48 year old Mr Fowle - with 20 years in licensed retailing and two years as retail director at J Sainbury - takes over from 57 year-old Tony Hughes, who is retiring at the end of the year. Mr Hughes is regarded by many as the godfather of pub dining after overseeing the creation of brands such as All Bar One, Browns, and Harvester - The Financial Times​

Diageo, the UK-based drinks company, yesterday lost its licence to import alcohol into South Korea, the world's fourth-largest whisky market and was fined Won £290m ($313,000) after tax authorities found it was involved in illegal sales to unlicensed wholesalers. This comes as both Diageo and Pernod Ricard, the French group, face a separate investigation for allegedly raising slush funds to be used for bribery, charges that also carry heavy penalties - The Financial Times​

Thousands of children - most of them girls - are ending up in hospital in England every year because of binge drinking, according to figures released yesterday. Statistics from the government's information centre for health and social care reveal that last year 5,280 children younger than 16 were admitted because of their drinking - of whom 59 per cent were girls. The numbers have risen by a third in the last 10 years, while adult admissions have almost doubled to 187,640 - The Guardian​

Millions of people could be prescribed cholesterol-reducing statins under guidelines published today by the Government's drug-rationing watchdog. However, GPs will also be encouraged to help patients to change their lifestyle, whether it is giving up smoking and alcohol or exercising more - The Telegraph​

One landlord claims to have found a loophole to fight the smoking ban - by declaring his pub to be part of a different country. The Wellington Arms in Southampton is set to transform itself from a public house into the official embassy for a tiny Caribbean island. If it is successful, the pub would be classified as "foreign soil", allowing smokers a haven from the smoking laws covering the rest of the UK - Daily Mail​

Moves to introduce street alcohol bans and a call for more funding for addiction services were backed by doctors yesterday. The BMA conference voted in favour of a motion by doctor Ian Thompon, a Glasgow GP, calling for an extension of schemes to outlaw the consumption of alcohol in residential and shopping areas - The Scotsman​

Flood-battered Britain is on alert for further chaos and loss of life this weekend as fears grow that more heavy downpours are on the way. Forcasters say an "organised band of persistent showers" is set to sweep the country on Friday and Saturday, brining several more inches of rain to already-saturated regions - Daily Express​