'Mitchells & Butlers rejects suitors'

Mitchells & Butlers, the pub and restaurant operator, has rebuffed preliminary approaches from a number of private equity firms keen to buy its Browns and All Bar One chains. The approaches come after a strategy review unveiled last month by John Lovering, M&B's new chairman, which encouraged suitors to believe that the company may consider offers for several concepts outside its six principal brands. But insiders last night rejected the idea that its 14 Browns restaurants and 37 All Bar Ones would be among them - The Times​

Labour has demanded the Scottish Government end its "obsession" with minimum pricing and instead focus on enforcing existing licensing laws. Health spokesman Richard Simpson hit out after figures showed there were 116 cases where a licence holder was convicted of selling drink to under 18s in 2008-09. But he blasted the £244 average fine for this as "completely inadequate" - Press Association​

Drunken football fans in the City face unprecedented monitoring before the World Cup, with police wearing cameras on their helmets to record anti-social behaviour and using a football-style penalty card system to remove troublemakers. Thousands of City workers are expected to fill bars and open-air venues when England games are screened. But fans who drink to excess and start trouble will face tougher measures aimed at stamping out yobbish behaviour. The cameras will be used extensively by City of London Police for the first time during this summer's tournament, which begin on June 11 - The Evening Standard ​

Cut-price alcohol promotions and glossy adverts are encouraging students to drink more, research has found. A survey of Cardiff University students found that two-thirds base decisions about where to go on a night out on what drink offers a bar or club has. The survey, by a degree student, also revealed a staggering 28% of students had their first alcoholic drink before they were 13. Campaigners have called for tighter curbs on the industry in a bid to protect drinkers' health - WalesOnline.co.uk​