McMullen boss: stop over-regulation

McMullen boss Peter Furness-Smith has urged the Culture Secretary to help save the pub from threats of massive over-regulation.

Furness-Smith asked Andy Burnham to "rise above soundbite politics" and "get a grip of the bureaucrats" across Government "who are doing their best to destroy the pub". He also called for tougher action against thugs who attack pub staff.

In a strongly-worded letter, seen by the MA, the brewery boss said: "At this time of crisis, effective political leadership is required urgently.

"I am writing in the hope that you are able to demonstrate your ability to listen to common sense and ignore those baying hounds who think that more penal restrictive regulation of supervised drinking environments (pubs and bars) will do anything to improve the number of alcohol and drug induced anti social incidents."

Furness-Smith pointed to the letter from Licensing Minister Gerry Sutcliffe, reported in the MA, calling for councils to inflict tough licence conditions on pubs that experience problems.

He also highlighted the draft mandatory code for operators that "reads like an operations manual for a large company operating in the high energy late night market place".

"Surely you must all realise that this 'proposal' will also end up applying to the vast majority of pubs that are owner operated small businesses? These proposals along with all the other red tape and increasing taxation will be the kiss of death for many of them!"

Anti-social minority​

He added: "We all accept that there is a problem caused by a relatively small section of our society who are thoroughly anti-social, but do you really believe that you will solve the problem by creating more regulations which will only result in criminalising those of us who work in this industry?

"McMullen operates 135 pubs and bars, mainly community and food led outlets. As managing director I am responsible for the circa 1,000 honest and hard working team members who, day in day out, try to look after our customers to the high standards we all set ourselves.

"We are all human and as such I am sure errors of judgement will be made from time to time, but I do not know of anyone I work with, or have ever worked with over the years, who enjoys working in a bar with even one drunken customer let alone managing the consequences of the subsequent behaviour."

Controlling pubs​

He continued: "I think you should know, therefore, that while your officials are spending obscene amounts of time dreaming up costly, impractical and bureaucratic ways of further controlling pubs, I am dealing with three incidents where members of my team have been assaulted by some of the 'low life' that I assume are really the targets in your sights.

"In the most recent case, in one of our food led pubs, a 35 year-old man beat up the manageress when she asked him to leave after his behaviour became unacceptable.

"With the benefit of hindsight, assuming the team could have foreseen a problem looming, he should not have been allowed into the pub let alone be served. But thanks to some of her regular customers, the injuries to my manageress were not a great deal worse.

"It is disgraceful that I am now having to employ a solicitor to try to achieve some justice for this brave lady as the police, on guidance from the Home Office, have let the offender off with a caution as he had no 'previous'!

"The police involved have been very helpful and I suspect are equally frustrated so I do not know what standards you are wishing to see in society at large but I should have thought that making a clear statement of intent to those 'on the edge' as to what is and what is not acceptable in society, then implement it, would be far more productive than trying to criminalise those of us who are trying to make an honest career in this challenging trade.

"Perhaps you should also consider tasking your army of bureaucrats to come up with a solution to what will still be the problem of drink and drug-fuelled anti-social behaviour when the majority of supervised drinking environments (pubs) have been forced into closure and when the industry is unable to recruit the quality of people needed to operate those pubs that are left!"