Police back 24-hour drinking

Police chiefs are urging the Home Secretary, Michael Howard, to scrap the licensing laws and allow 24-hour drinking in bars, clubs and pubs.

The 43 chief constables in England and Wales say controls on drinking are outdated and an anachronism. In a policy document sent to Mr Howard, they have asked for "root and branch" reforms.

Meanwhile weekend licensing hours are almost certain to be relaxed after the move received police backing. It is understood the Government is set to announce in the next couple of months that pubs can remain open an extra hour, until midnight, on Fridays and Saturdays.

The chief constables' call to liberalise the laws was made in a policy statement by the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) to Mr Howard. They are expected to be strongly opposed by anti-drinking groups such as the Methodist Church.

Allan Charlesworth, Deputy Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, who was in charge of drawing up the Acpo paper, said: "The current laws are outdated and outmoded. They are an anachronism. The police service supports total deregulation of licensing laws.

"You could have 24-hour cities similar to the continent with all-night cafes and clubs that have proper door supervisors and a local authority that takes account of community safety. You could have all-night bars and pubs if it was suitable for the environment."

The police propose working with a system of "conditional licences" in which bars and clubs would be allowed to stay open for different periods according to their circumstances. Customers at a country pub could carry on drinking until 3am, but a city drinking den where drunkenness was common would have to shut at 11pm.

"At the moment because there is only one standard closing time, people will rush down pints shortly before closing time and you end up with flashpoints as the pubs empty shortly after 11pm," Mr Charlesworth said.

"If closing times were spread out it would reduce public disorder. We think different rules should apply to different styles of premises and environments, otherwise you go on adding on an hour here and lopping off half an hour there."

It is understood that the vast bulk of responses to the plans have been extremely positive.

Metropolitan forces expressed some concern that later closing times could cause problems. However the police chiefs see both options as "tinkering with the edges", Mr Charlesworth said.

If as expected there is little political opposition, the changes could go through the Commons by a fast-track method, a Home Office source said.