Home Secretary launches battle of the binge, condemning TV shows 'which glorify drunken behaviour'

Two years after Labour introduced 24-hour licensing laws, Jacqui Smith pledged "zero tolerance" on alcohol-fuelled antisocial behaviour and shamed programmes which "celebrate" drunkenness, particularly among the young.

Promoting heavy drinking was irresponsible and had a direct link with the "real damage" alcohol caused to society, the minister said.

Miss Smith did not single out programmes for criticism. But aides said she has in her sights fly-on-the-wall programmes such as Sky One's Ibiza Uncovered. The programme shows British holidaymakers drinking heavily before having one-night stands.

Aides denied that she was specifically referring to soap operas. However, charities say there is widespread glorification of heavy drinking on programmes including EastEnders and Holby City on the BBC and Coronation Street on ITV.

Miss Smith said: "Let me be clear. I've zero tolerance of anti-social behaviour, and zero tolerance of its causes - causes like alcohol misuse-We should give no time to the idea that just because you're drunk and incapable that somehow lets you off the hook.

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"Why celebrate drunken behaviour on our TV screens? Alcohol misuse can cause real damage to real people."

From Monday, powers for police and councils will mean "dodgy" off-licences and pubs which sell alcohol to children can be shut, she said.

The criticism demonstrates a Government's crackdown on alcohol - two years after 24-hour drinking began.

It also showed Labour's continuing incursion into Tory territory with "zero-tolerance" pledges on crime and anti-social behaviour.

Gordon Brown is ready to reverse the controversial 24-hour free-for-all after calling excessive alcohol use as "unacceptable". The Daily Mail has campaigned to end 24-hour licensing.

Miss Smith is not planning new laws for TV at this stage, but wants to shame programme makers into being more responsible, an aide said.

The charity Alcohol Concern has also warned that soap characters were seen drinking too often. Its research found that scenes in TV pubs in shows such as EastEnders showed alcohol being drunk seven times an hour - almost twice as much as in the 1980s.

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In March, a survey in The Food Magazine showed alcohol featured in 18 per cent of scenes in Channel 4's Hollyoaks and 16 per cent of scenes EastEnders.

The BBC said its "continuing dramas never seek to glamorise alcohol" but aimed to "reflect society". "On occasions when EastEnders or Holby City does deal with alcohol within a storyline context we always seek to handle the issue sensitively."

Miss Smith also promised a £50million fund for crime-fighting technology to allow police to spend more time on patrols than on paperwork.

Motorists could be fingerprinted at the roadside by police using hand-held electronic devices, she said. The cash will also pay for 10,000 handheld computers Gordon Brown has pledged to distribute to police by next year. He also promised to equip officers with hand-held metal detectors in a blitz on gun crime.