First the folly, now the panic

They ignored the police. They wouldn't listen to the judiciary. They brushed aside the concerns of doctors, churches and the wider public. As always, Ministers arrogantly thought they knew best.

Nothing - but nothing - could be allowed to stop their reckless rush to introduce round-the-clock drinking, which they assured us would usher in a continental-style cafe culture of civilised restraint.

Now, when it is too late, the whiff of panic in the air. Now comes a frantic scramble to mitigate the damage when this 'reform' comes into effect next week.

Today, police launch their biggest-ever crackdown on binge drinking.

The exercise is supported by a truly repulsive poster showing a pavement splattered with vomit, arranged to represent the £80 fine drunks will have to pay. But why should any of this work, in an alcoholic free-for-all?

Meanwhile, Ministers continue their pitiful pretence that all will be well, urging councils to 'start the process of delivering a real change in attitudes and practice around alcohol-fuelled disorder'.

Some hope. The scale of this Government's misjudgment is already apparent in the unexpectedly large number of 24-hour drinking licences.

Ministers glibly claimed only a 'handful' of pubs and clubs would open round the clock. But at least 700 such licences have been approved. And that is to say nothing of the thousands of pubs and clubs given extensions into the small hours.

No, you don't need a crystal ball to predict what this 'reform' will do. Just examine what happened over this Government's equally crass encouragement of gambling.

Though frustrated in their attempt to foist giant casinos on every high street - with opposition led by this paper - Ministers still go out of their way to help the moguls of the gaming industry.

With 17 new casinos opening by 2009 and another 40 in the pipeline, they seem so anxious to promote gambling that they have just scrapped the law requiring punters to register before joining a casino.

The result? Surprise, surprise, a surge in gambling in recent weeks - this when gambling addiction is at record levels.

We can expect worse when 24-hour drinking comes in. Police fear mayhem on the streets. Judges warn of more rapes and other violent crimes. Law-abiding communities are braced for more misery.

And a Government that never listens or learns and never thinks things through adds insult to injury, with a 'crackdown' to stave off a disaster of its own making.

Daily Mail ~ 15/11/05