A music campaigner has challenged a senior policeman to justify his claim that live music can lead to disorder.
Phil Little of the Live Music Forum wrote to Chief Inspector Adrian Studd of the Metropolitan Police after the policeman said the idea of exempting venues with a capacity under 200 "fills me with absolute horror".
Little asked: "What robust evidence can the police produce showing that live music in general leads to public disorder? I do not mean the occasional bust-up that happens wherever people gather and drink alcohol. I mean a proven causal link specifically between live music and serious violent crime.
"The connection that the police have repeatedly made in recent months must be proven, before criminalising the provision of live music, unless licensed, could be considered in any sense necessary and proportionate."
Little said live music has "a calming effect on the local population and is good for the community".
"Few deny that excessive alcohol consumption is what leads to most public violence, but live music gives people another reason to attend an event rather than just to drink excessively. It is certainly less likely to incite public aggression than televised sports matches which are not burdened by the same licensing requirements."
Consultation
Last week Licensing Minister announced the Government would consult on music licence exemptions for venues with a capacity under 100.
Little called the move "a step forward" but said that the stated capacity limit is "insufficient to allow a publican in a modestly large pub to run his venue, pay his staff and pay a band anything approaching a decent fee".
"Everybody suffers. The suggested limit of 200 is more realistic but still a bit low for many a pub I have played at in London.
"We hope that the Metropolitan Police will not be making unsubstantiated claims and objections to this desperately needed easing of unnecessary restrictions on basic cultural expression in our society."