Pub chain calls time on cut-price drinking

One of Britain's biggest pub chains has scrapped its two-for-one promotions in response to the Government's campaign to clamp down on binge drinking.

J D Wetherspoon, which has 120 pubs in and around London, said it was halting all discounted double spirits and two-for-one bottled beer offers, and cutting the amounts of alcohol in its jugs of cocktails.

It is also dropping the price of non-alcoholic drinks such as mineral water and fruit juice by 10p.

"We are taking away any financial incentive to drink more," said a spokesman. "We will serve you two bottles of beer if you want, but you will have to pay the full price."

Chief executive John Hutson said the move was carried out after "legitimate requests from the authorities".

He said: "There is obvious concern among the licensing trade and police, as well as in government, about attitudes to alcohol in the community. No company serving alcohol can be immune from bad behaviour from time to time, but these new policies should help reduce its effects.

"We believe a combination of food served all day, reasonably priced soft drinks and an absence of financial incentives to 'trade up' to larger quantities of alcohol is the right direction to take."

The Government's alcohol harm reduction strategy, out last week, pressures pubs not to sell alcohol in a way that encourages excessive drinking. Its code of practice showed particular concern about "happy hours".

But other pub companies branded Wetherspoon's move a marketing gimmick.

Mark Jones, chief of the Yates wine bar group, said: "Being responsible isn't just about prices. It's about relationships with the police and with local and national government - and running a responsible operation."

Steven Dennis of Luminar said: "Knee-jerk reactions to piecemeal legislation would be a silly way for an experienced leisure operator to proceed."

Simon Kaye of Regent Inns said he was checking promotions to make sure they stuck to the new guidelines.

"During off-peak times we sometimes have drinks for £1.50 or two-for-one offers," he said. "But it's not during offpeak periods that problems associated with binge drinking take place."