BII slams drinks promotion report as ‘tittle-tattle'

The British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) has waded into the debate about legislation for drinks promotions, describing the report that sparked a government consultation as ‘tittle-tattle'.

However the pub industry professional body said the report, compiled by KPMG on behalf of the Department of Health and the Home released last week, did acknowledge that the BII includes the voluntary codes as part of its syllabus for accredited qualification schemes.

John McNamara, chief executive of BII, said: "Our industry has yet again taken an unfair bashing.

"The report is more ‘tittle-tattle' than based on hard evidence and we are deeply disappointed at the anecdotal nature of the fieldwork and the lack of appreciation of the great strides we have taken."

He added that the BII has over 45,000 members who had signed up to the licensed trade's Social Responsibility Standards scheme.

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By Christopher Walton

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