Scrap cheap deals - now

Trade calls for end to cheap alcohol deals

as supermarkets make "token gestures"

Supermarkets should scrap cheap alcohol deals now and not wait for government intervention.

That's the message from pub trade leaders in response to the surprise calls by Tesco and Morrisons for government intervention on the pricing of alcohol.

Meanwhile, new measures announced by Asda - including stopping alcohol sales from midnight at town-centre stores - have been labelled a "token gesture".

This comes as pressure mounts to act against cheap supermarket alcohol - with politicians and doctors speaking out.

Some observers fear government intervention on pricing would be disastrous for pubs, because ministers would struggle to overcome competition law - and simply raise alcohol tax.

All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group chairman John Grogan labelled Tesco's actions "an amazing U-turn" and a "significant move".

"Tesco could have gone further and said it would not sell alcohol below cost from tomorrow. The rest would have had to follow because of the pressure - and that would have been without collusion."

Grogan thinks laws against below-cost selling are possible and expects Government to respond in its report on pricing policies, due in July.

Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers chief executive Nick Bish said: "They [supermarkets] are so addicted to below-cost selling that they appear unwilling or unable to moderate their own behaviour and instead need legislation to stop them.

"There's absolutely nothing to stop Tesco from unilaterally taking action to ban below-cost selling in its outlets."

As well as the after-midnight booze ban, Asda's new policy includes rolling out Challenge-25 in more than 100 stores and doubling the number of test purchases.

Removing "high-alcohol fruit-flavoured shooters" from shelves, prosecuting under-18s who try to buy alcohol and investing £1m in youth projects aimed at cutting underage drinking are also proposed.

Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations chief executive Tony Payne said: "Kids who get fuelled on alcohol don't get it between midnight and 6am."

Paul Smith, executive director of late-night trade body Noctis, said: "We approve of that fact that Asda is doing something, but it smacks of a token gesture as [the late-night booze ban] is only in city-centre stores." An Asda spokeswoman said it would apply to only about 100 of its 330 shops.

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What the supermarkets are saying

Tesco executive director Lucy Neville-Rolfe admitted the firm has "a role to play in addressing the problem of anti-social drinking".

She added: "Competition law prevents businesses discussing anything to do with price with each other and imposes severe penalties on anyone who breaches it.

"The only safe solution is for Government to initiate and lead those discussions and to bring forward legislative proposals that Tesco and others in our industry can support."

In reply, a Morrisons spokesman said: "Competition law, which we adhere to, prevents an industry-wide discussion on price and promotion, so we would look to ministers to take the lead in this area."

Asda chief executive and president Andy Bond said: "We aim to make it practically impossible for under-18s to break the law in our stores."

said.

"I am not in favour of indiscriminate price rises which would disproportionately hit the vast majority of people who drink sensibly and in moderation.

"Unlike some in the industry I am also not prepared to hide behind calls for more legislation. I believe there are plenty of things we can do now to start tackling this important social issue."

The MA has asked Sainsbury's - the last of the "big four" supermarkets - for its view but received no reply.

pressure - doctors speak out

The British Medical Association (BMA) highlighted the off-trade as it called for action against discounted alcohol.

This includes stopping promotions on alcohol and establishing minimum pricing. The BMA also favours higher alcohol tax.

A new BMA report says: "Irresponsible promotional activities are common in licensed premises and off-licences (including supermarkets and local convenience stores).

"It is essential that these forms of promotional activity are strictly regulated."

Meanwhile, Health England chairman Professor Julian le Grand, who advises the Government, told the Daily Telegraph: "I am in favour of separate alcohol outlets.

"Certain states in the United States and certain Canadian provinces have separate stores.

"I would probably ban supermarkets from selling alcohol altogether."

pressure - Tories back action

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: "We've got to do something about the fact that youngsters can down eight pints of high-strength lager for less than a fiver - that can't be right."

He favoured intervention to allow the supermarkets to discuss and set prices without contravening competition law.

"We have to look at that -we have companies behaving without social responsibility because of the law," he said.

Davis also came out against raising tax on alcohol - the "bluntest instrument possible" that would penalise the majority of sensible drinkers.

Pressure - MPs table Petitions

MPs are expressing their opposition to cheap supermarket alcohol by signing parliamentary petitions.

Labour MP Alan Meale's Early Day Motion (EDM) number 951 expresses "concerns about the sale of low-priced alcohol in the UK's off-trade". It has 30 signatures.

Liberal Democrat MP Richard Younger-Ross has submitted two EDMs on the subject. EDM number 1007, which has collected seven signatures to date, calls for "licensed designated gated zones" in supermarkets to deter children.

EDM 1008 "notes the report of the British Medical Association on alcohol abuse and the role that cheap drink promotions play in fuelling this abuse".

It "calls upon the Government to bring forward legislation to end all off-sales promotions based on discounted price".

The EDM has nine signatures to date.