Our cells overflow with drunk yobs

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens today warns that a dramatic rise in drunken yobbery is threatening plans for 24-hour drinking.

He says his officers are having to arrest so many extra people that cells in the capital are frequently filled to overflowing.

Sir John's comments come in an interview with the Evening Standard to mark his stepping down at the end of this month from his position as as Britain's most senior policeman.

They will be a further blow to the Government's plans to introduce all-day drinking which are already mired in confusion over how to pay for the extra policing costs involved in controlling an anticipated rise in crime.

Sir John said: "In the past few years we have seen an epidemic of binge drinking. There has been a major trend towards drunken, loutish behaviour: assaults on police are up 40 per cent. It's not just London - it's nationwide.

"I feel now that we should just slow down a little on this proposal

... let's have another look at what all-hours drinking could mean. We are currently arresting more people than ever before - 30,000 more last year. We have great difficulty finding the cell space for those we arrest. We are now taking people out of London to process them.

"If 24-hour drinking came in, we would need to reinforce staffing levels in the early hours. That would mean switching resources from somewhere else. I - and a majority of my colleagues - agree this is a policy we need to have another look at."

The Government argues that relaxing licensing laws will lead to an improvement in behaviour since it will avoid the current problem of thousands of people coming onto the streets at the same time when pubs shut.

But critics say it will simply make the problems of drunken behaviour worse. Two London councils are threatening to take court action to make sure that the Government funds the cost of extra policing.

Westminster says that it will face potential extra policing costs running into millions because so many of the pubs and bars of the West End - a magnet for young drinkers - are in its area of jurisdiction. The council says it need a guarantee of Government cash to meet the extra costs.

Tory leader Michael Howard has also joined the growing chorus calling for a rethink.

Earlier this month he warned that until the problem of binge drinking is brought under control there is no way the plan for 24-hour drinking can go head.

Sir John's comments come in the first major interview he has given to mark his five-year tenure as head of the Met. In a wide-ranging review he also says he hopes to see, later this year, a major initiative against the growing problem of knife crime.

A new type of hand-held scanner is being developed, he revealed. This would allow officers to detect concealed weapons and raises the prospect of police being able to carry out checks in schools and known crime hotspots.

Sir John also said that, in his continuing role as head of the new investigation into the death of Princess Diana, he will leave no stone unturned in his pursuit of the truth.

And his departure does not mark a retirement, in the accepted sense.

He has taken up a number of business appointments including directorships, is writing a book and will be penning a column for a Sunday newspaper.

He will also be lecturing here and abroad, and it is understood he has been offered a highly lucrative spot on the after-dinner speaking circuit.

Senior colleagues say his earnings are likely to overtake his current Met salary of ?225,000.

But Sir John is also planning to devote a lot of his time to charity work - especially in Africa.

He is a qualified pilot and has recently been upgrading his licence to enable him to fly a jet equipped as an air ambulance.