Fag butt law leaves staff fuming

For Ken Livingstone the idea seemed simple enough.

Under a new drive for a cleaner London, smokers would face £50 fixed penalties for dumping cigarette ends in the street.

The Mayor was keen for his staff to lead by example. There were to be no excuses - the latest newsletter made that clear. They were not allowed to litter the pavement outside City Hall.

Those staff members who wanted to smoke would have to use the heat-resistant "Stubbi" cigarette pouch given to them to dispose of the offending item. The small pouch comes with step-bystep instructions. Step one: put cigarette, lit-end first, into Stubbi. Step two: close flap and press button (leave closed for 20 seconds). Step three: ensure cigarette is extinguished before storing or disposing of Stubbi. Step four: empty Stubbi when contents are fully extinguished.

But as details emerged of Mr Livingstone's latest campaign, staff at City Hall seemed to be struggling to comply. In only half an hour the Evening Standard saw 19 workers come out of the building, light up, enjoy a cigarette then stub it out on the pavement.

"It's ridiculous," said one. "Look around you - there's nowhere for us to dispose of our cigarettes apart from the pavement. Ken won't give us a smoking room so we have to come out here, endure all types of weather and now we're being told not to litter the streets.

"Where does he want us to put our fag ends, in our pockets? We've been given these little pouches which only hold five butts and yet Ken won't let us empty them in the office bins. We have to take them home."

In minutes, a cleaner was out on the concourse sweeping up. But as soon as he left other workers appeared - apparently oblivious to Mr Livingstone's wishes.

"These Stubbi pouches are rubbish," said one. Her colleagues agreed. A line manager said: "As you can see, no one is taking a blind bit of notice. Employing 750 wardens to enforce Ken's new policy is going to cost tens of thousands of pounds. Can't he spend the money on something better?"

Mr Livingstone has written to 300 firms warning them that their staff who smoke outside should not throw away cigarette ends. To make it easier for smokers to comply he spent ?30,000 on 15,000 pouches. His officials claim 2,700 tons of cigarette waste including packaging, matches and butts are dumped on London's pavements each year.

Under the 1990 Environmental Protection Act, council enforcement officers can issue ?50 fixed-penalty notices for littering. Offenders have the option to pay the penalty within a few weeks or they can go to court.