HC Deb 20 February 1986 vol 92 cc464-5
3. Mr. John Mark Taylor

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received about the incidence of drink-related disorderly behaviour in private boxes at football matches.

Mr. Giles Shaw

My right hon. Friend has received representations from a number of right hon. and hon. Members, and others, to the effect that the controls on the sale and possession of alcohol in executive boxes should be relaxed. As he said in his statement to the House on the Popplewell report, we are awaiting further information on the financial aspects from the football authorities. We shall report our conclusions to the House while the Public Order Bill is before Parliament.

Mr. Taylor

Will my hon. Friend accept that I have attended such boxes from time to time? I have never witnessed any violence, fighting or rioting. If indeed the incidence of such disorder is nil, and if the prospect of such disorder is nil, what is his alcohol prohibition guarding against?

Mr. Shaw

My hon. Friend is right. There is no implication that hooliganism starts in executive boxes. We recognise that these are a salubrious part of most grounds, but my hon. Friend must realise that the alcohol legislation we put through last summer was designed to impose a number of restraints affecting all persons attending football matches. We are now awaiting an assessment by the clubs of the losses that they may have incurred by virtue of the restraints on executive boxes. That is the matter we shall now deal with.

Mr. Allan Roberts

If Labour voters outside the executive boxes, looking in through the glass screens, could see Conservative voters drinking champagne when those outside were prevented from buying cans and bottles of ale in the ground, would that scenario not cause some anger among some of the football supporters?

Mr. Shaw

I have no doubt that it might. I think that the hon. Gentleman should have a word with the chairman of Liverpool football club to see whether he follows the same line of argument.

Mr. Hicks

Does my hon. Friend not agree now, as some of us tried to point out on Second Reading, that this total ban is having an adverse effect, particularly on the smaller football clubs? Therefore, will he look again, as quickly as possible, at that problem, specifically in the case of those smaller clubs which have an excellent record of crowd control and non-violence?

Mr. Shaw

I fully understand my hon. Friend's point of view, and that is why my right hon. Friend made it clear that we would be prepared to review it during the passage of the Public Order Bill. I must remind my hon. Friend and the House that in the discussions which my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, who has responsibility for sport, and I have with the football authorities, it is essential to know the scale of the problem with which they are currently faced so that we can make a proper assessment.

Mr. Frank Cook

Do not the protestations coming from the Government Benches give a clear example of the standard attitude of the Government? They want to lay down the law for the masses but then claim a personal exemption for themselves.

Mr. Shaw

No, that is far from the truth, and I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will understand that it is not true. We are concerned about the equity in the legislation and the extent to which clubs, large and small, may be put at risk. That could occur in Middlesborough and Hartlepool, just as much as in Liverpool or at Everton.