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Drunk or not drunk - that is the question!

It is - of course - an offence to sell alcohol to someone who is drunk or to allow alcohol to be so sold - section 141 LA2003.

What is ‘drunk' is not and has never in the recent past been clearly defined and clearly must a matter of some considerable subjective judgment.

Indeed the terms of a Home Office ‘guidance paper' issued to police forces about 2 years ago made it clear that to obtain a conviction would not be easy and police forces were advised to be able to present "such compelling physical evidence of a persons level of intoxication as it would be impossible for a Court to accept that the person who conducts the sale did not know of this fact". The expectation therefore was that the Police should be looking for more than the simple four point test otherwise employed - unsteady on feet, eyes glazed, speech slurred and breath smells of intoxicating liquor.

Why mention this now? Well it is reported in the trade press that Bexley have recently targeted pubs with actors pretending to be drunk, and having had alcohol poured over their clothes, also smelling of drink. None were apparently challenged and it would not appear that this has been taken further forward, in terms of direct enforcement action against defaulting premises. Were it to be so, perhaps the first line of defence might be that the performance fell far short of being Oscar winning!

The law in this area is however particularly complex and difficult to interpret and enforce.

If you become aware of the possibility that such a sale to a potential drunk has taken place as part of a similar "sting" operation, it is imperative that your staff are prepared and know how to respond.

We have some established due diligence procedures for circumstances such as this on which we can advise if this is or becomes a concern to you going forward. As always if you would like more detail, please get in touch.

John Gaunt