Met chief calls for drinks curb

The future head of the Metropolitan Police today called for bars to be forced to have minimum prices for their drinks to curb binge drinking.

Sir Ian Blair, who takes over as Met Commissioner in three months, said the patience of the police was running thin with the drinks industry's system of self-regulation.

Sir Ian said that if the industry did not "get its act together", the police would begin to lobby to legislate against it.

He added: "This is not about party-pooping. It's about wanting our city centres to be places where people over 25 want to go."

A change to licensing laws will next year allow pubs to push their opening hours beyond 11pm in an attempt to create a relaxed "Mediterranean" drinking culture.

The London Assembly is to debate how the capital has coped as a 24-hour city. Experts from local authorities piloting 24-hour schemes will reveal their teething problems to the assembly.

"If we do not manage this very carefully, there will be conflict between locals, businesses and councils," said Graham McNally, town centre manager for Kingstonupon-Thames, one of the pilot scheme areas.

One of the criticisms in Kingston is that late-night culture creates dirty streets. It is thought that the bill to keep 24-hour Soho clean is at least ?36 million a year. At present, the budget for Kingston is ?1.3 million.