How about that for a response
A pub has begun giving beers away, after it was told that selling a pint of beer for 25p during a promotion was “irresponsible” and a breach of its licence.
Whitelocks started serving in 1715 and is the oldest continuously running pub in Leeds.
The city centre pub offered customers their first pint of revived 1970s pale ale brand Double Diamond at the retro price.
This was done as part of the four-day scheme, which began on Thursday.
However, the pub’s owner, Edward Mason, said that the council pulled the plug on the offer later the same day.
According to the council, it was in breach of mandatory licence conditions on minimum alcohol pricing.
The pub then commenced offering the initial pint for nothing, after seeking legal advice and discussing it with the local authority on Friday.
Since 2014, however, according to the law, it cannot be sold below cost price, which is comprised of the cost of duty plus VAT.
Publican Mason said that on Thursday, he was contacted by the council and they told him there had been a complaint and that selling it at 25p per pint was “an irresponsible promotion and would be below cost price”.
Mason then explained to the local authority that as a way to thank customers at the historical boozer for their loyalty, his pub would offer a pint of the 3.8% ale for free.
“They still insisted that we were not allowed to do that, and instructed us to cease the promotion in any form”, he said.
However, a licensing lawyer advised the pub that the free offer was “completely legal and would not be a breach of our licence conditions”.
A council spokesperson said that “the proposed 25p pint promotion would breach mandatory licence conditions on minimum alcohol pricing and irresponsible drinks promotions”, when asked why it was deemed irresponsible to charge 25p for a pint but not to give it away for free.
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