A Tragic Loophole

In the last edition of Alert the case of David Knowles was reported. He was the 14 year old boy from Pudsey in Yorkshire who was sold lager and alcopops in a Thresher off-licence and was then killed whilst running across a busy by-pass. Readers will recall that because of a loophole in the law, no-one could be prosecuted for selling him the alcohol. The staff involved were on the national pay-roll of Thresher and therefore not the servants of the licence holder as defined by law. This could mean that thousands of people working in off-licence chains can sell alcohol to minors without fear of prosecution. The licence holder himself could only have been prosecuted if he had been the one to carry out the sale.

It added considerably to the grief of David's parents to know that no-one would be held responsible for providing the alcohol which led to his death. John Knowles, quoted in the Daily Express, said, "If alcohol is sold to children then it is obvious to every right-thinking person that they could do damage to themselves, to others, or to property, and yet there is nothing to stop people selling to them either out of carelessness or just to make a profit." He added that his son "might have got away with looking 15 in a bad light, but he was obviously under age."

A spokesman for Thresher, whilst acknowledging that David's death was a tragedy, called for the introduction of identity cards. "Every day staff are being asked to make judgements on how old people are," he said. "It is phenomenally difficult." There are clearly those who might think this was an overstatement when the customer in question is a youthful looking 14 year old.

Paul Truswell, the Member of Parliament for Pudsey, took the case up and introduced a 10-Minute Rule Bill with the intention of removing the loophole by substituting "agent" for "servant" in the relevant clause of the Licensing Act . This would have the effect of making anyone working in an off-licence or supermarket liable to prosecution in cases such as that of David Knowles.

10-Minute Rule Bills introduced by backbenchers are a means of bringing an area of particular concern to wider notice and have no chance of becoming law. However, the Minister of State at the Home Office who has responsibility for these matters, George Howarth, has assured Mr Truswell that the law will be amended. The Home Office is at the moment preparing "a wide-ranging review of licensing" but a spokesman, referring to this particular case, said, "this is more urgent and will be considered more speedily."

Speedily enough to prevent more tragedies being caused by the sale of alcohol to children, it is to be hoped.