UK: MPs call for pub happy hours ban

London, 10 November 2008. Pub happy hours should be banned and supermarkets stopped from selling alcohol at a loss in order to combat drink-fuelled disorder, MPs have said. The Home Affairs select committee said reckless drinking was placing a heavy burden on police resources. One possible solution for England and Wales, MPs said, would be legislation setting a minimum price on alcohol.

Their call comes in a report on challenges facing police forces in the 21st century. Ministers said they would "look carefully" at the report's recommendations.

The report said police faced a host of pressures, including public expectations over minor crime, rapid population change, and the number of murder suspects released on bail. But it added that evidence showed the biggest problem faced by police forces was violence and disorder caused by excessive drinking of cheap alcohol.

To read the full article and view the report, click here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7718950.stm