Clause 19 - Closure of certain licensed premises due todisorder or disturbance
Criminal Justice and Police Bill
4:45 pm
Mr Charles Clarke (Minister of State, Home Office; Norwich South, Labour)
With respect to the hon. Gentleman, although I understand his point, I do not accept it. The fact that disorder is occurring outside the pub does not mean that what is going on inside the pub has no impact on what is happening on the street. He is right to say that the police have powers to deal with circumstances of disorder on the street. They already have those powers, irrespective of the Bill. However, all hon. Members are familiar with circumstances in which what is happening on the street is not independent of the fact that the pub happens to be nearby. If one imagines the pub suddenly being taken away, will there still be disorder on the street in those circumstances? The answer would generally be no. I can imagine that the answer could be yes, but we are discussing circumstances in which the pub is the cause of disorder in the particular area. Before the hon. Gentleman intervenes again on this point, I emphasise yet again that the purpose of the closure power is to deal with the source of the disorder, not to punish the licensee.