Mayor backs ban on alcohol for under-21s

Off-licence owners are to be asked to stop selling drink to under-21s, even though they are legally entitled to buy it at 18.

The voluntary scheme will start in Croydon and is likely to be rolled out across London.

Mr Johnson said that it was the type of solution that Londoners would welcome to the "huge problem" of binge-drinking by the young.

However, the Mayor added that it should be up to individual boroughs to decide on such restrictions rather than enforcing a city-wide blanket ban.

"I do think that we have got a huge problem with binge drinking, underage drinking and general abuse of alcohol in this city, and I certainly think that this idea is a very interesting one," he said.

"Where we have got particular problems in particular areas, off-licences and supermarkets should stop the sale of alcohol to the under-21s. That is the kind of solution that I think Londoners are looking to us to provide. I do think this is something where the boroughs can take a lead and banish the scourge of binge drinking."

The scheme, which mirrors proposals in Scotland, has been prompted by fears that cheap alcohol at corner shops and supermarkets is contributing to anti-social behaviour and violence.

There is particular concern that offlicences and shops are not part of a drive to encourage pubs and bars to introduce a more responsible approach to alcohol sales.

Announcing the plan for a ban on sales to under-21s, Croydon councillor Steve O'Connell, who is also a member of the Greater London Assembly, said he believed it could help to significantly reduce disorder.

"What we want to tackle the corner shops that are selling eight cans of Stella for a fiver because it can lead to young people then getting involved in anti-social behaviour," he said.

"It will require a cultural shift and it would affect their profit margins, but it would stop some violent incidents taking place and, after Croydon, I would like to see this applied across London."

Croydon will now seek to win agreement from licensees, although it expects that it will be several months before the full curbs are in place.

Frank Sodeen, of the charity Alcohol Concern, expressed reservations about the idea saying that it might detract from efforts to combat illegal under-age drinking.

"It is certainly true that the 16 to 24-year-old age group drink the most and that they are more likely to be both the victims and perpetrators of alcoholrelated violence," he said.

"But there is a risk that this would alienate people and it is also difficult to see how it would work unless every shop agreed to take part because otherwise 20-year-olds will find it pretty easy to find the places where they can still buy alcohol."

Under plans announced last month by the Scottish Executive, a legal change to prohibit the sale of alcohol to under-21s is being proposed in a bid to curb excessive drinking.

Such a change would bring the situation in Scotland closer to that in the US, although unlike America, Scottish pubs and bars would still be free to sell drink to those aged 18 and above.