Police and local authorities 'ignore the law with drink-bans'

There are more than 700 drink-ban areas in the UK, and more are on their way. Is this an infringement of civil liberties? One journalist thinks most bans are against the spirit of the law, if not the law itself.

Writing in The Guardian Henry Porter says that the right to drink in public is being systematically attacked across the country by local authorities using powers to stop people having a good time in a park or a picnic with their friends.

In fact, he says, the 'poorly-drafted' Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 is being used by councils to prevent the very people they serve from enjoying themselves. 'It has been acknowledged by the Home Office, never the first to leap to the defence of liberty, that they are being abused. Last year they issued a guidance, which stressed DPPOs should only be used to tackle problem areas.' 

According to the guidance, "These powers are not intended to disrupt peaceful activities, for example families having a picnic in a park or on the beach with a glass of wine. Our advice is that it is not appropriate to challenge an individual consuming alcohol where that individual is not causing a problem. Bodies responsible for introducing and enforcing DPPOs must keep in mind section 13 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 which makes it clear that this power is to be used explicitly for addressing nuisance or annoyance associated with the consumption of alcohol in a public place."

Read the rest of this feature from The Guardian here