24-hour drinking laws were likely to remain in place

majority of Britain's 13-year-olds have drunk alcohol, marking a worrying "tipping point" for underage drinking, the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, warned today, as she promised to step up enforcement.The home secretary gave a clear hint that the 24-hour drinking laws were likely to remain in place.Smith indicated that Home Office research will be published later this month will show that longer opening hours have not had a dramatic impact on crime and disorder.She reiterated her concern about irresponsible drink promotions such as "50p shots until midnight" and "all you can drink for a tenner" nights, announcing that consultants KPMG are to report by March on how well the drinks industry is implementing its own standards to curb the practice.Although legislation to ban cut-price promotions - some of which have led to supermarkets selling alcohol at cheaper prices than bottled water - has not been ruled out, the home secretary said there were clear signs that drinks companies were taking their responsibilities more seriously.A decision on whether to legislate will not be taken before a Department of Health internal review delivers its report in June on possible links between cut-price alcohol and harm to health.Ministers promised at the end of 2007 to change the law if necessary to curb what is termed "deep discounting" - selling alcohol below cost price - by shops and supermarkets.Smith used a Home Office conference in north London on alcohol enforcement to warn of the dangers of underage drinking and confirmed that she was prepared to tighten 10-year-old police powers to confiscate alcoholic drinks from under-18s in public places.She said: "I will listen to the police and give them extra powers to make it illegal for under-18s to drink alcohol in public so that they don't have to prove reasonable suspicion, if needed."But the home secretary made clear, by highlighting the fact that more than 333,000 13-year-olds have drunk alcohol, that she wants to tackle underage drinking.She announced an £875,000 enforcement campaign over the coming half-term to confiscate alcohol from under-18s drinking in public. A similar campaign which ran in 23 local police divisions last autumn led to 3,700 litres of alcohol being confiscated - equal to 6,500 pints.This year the campaign, from 9-24 February, will involve 175 local police divisions across England and Wales.Smith warned parents they must act, stating that nearly half

24-hour drinking laws were likely to remain in place

majority of Britain's 13-year-olds have drunk alcohol, marking a worrying "tipping point" for underage drinking, the home secr...

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