MP Given Exclusion Order

In another blow to the Licensed Hospitality sector, MP Eric Joyce has been told he has to stay out of pubs for three months…. another valuable customer lost…

After starting a brawl in the Stranger’s bar, in the House of Commons, following the serious provocation of there being ‘too many Conservative MPs in the bar’, the ultra-sarcastic side of my personality can not resist pointing out, that at this moment in time, he is going to find himself outnumbered by Tories on a fairly regular basis… that was after all the conclusion of the last general election…

The serious point…

…before I go back to mocking, is that this does provide me with the perfect story to use in future training courses for the BIIAB Award for Personal Licence Holders and Designated Premises Supervisor courses when I have to explain Exclusion Orders.

An Exclusion Order is in effect what MP Eric Joyce has been given as part of the community order he is reported to have received alongside his curfew. An Exclusion Order can be issued when the courts consider sentencing for crimes which occurred on licensed premises.

The Exclusion Order restricts the convicted criminal from entering licensed premises in a designated geographical area (in this case seemingly the whole of England & Wales) for a fixed period of time; three months for Mr Joyce. Failure to comply with the exclusion order can result in further prosecution and often (especially where a suspended custodial sentence was issued) a time at Her Majesties pleasure; in prison.

Now back to mocking…

So when Mr Cameron talks of the Scandal of Binge Drinking presumably he is looking no further than down the hallowed halls of the Parliament buildings?

I’m sure he will claim that as Eric Joyce MP a Labour politician, it has little to do with him. However maybe the environment in which they work, is little more than a rather exclusive reflection of the high street. Maybe the proposed minimum pricing should start on their doorstep and the environment in which MPs consume alcohol should be reconsidered.

How many times have police officers and door supervisors had to deal with ‘drunk thugs’ on the high street shouting abuse at them and quoting law (albeit, more often than not, wrongly) while they restrain the offender?

That someone who represents the people has the audacity to think they are above the law (where have I heard that before…) and shout at the police ‘you can’t touch me I’m an MP’ is as amusing as it is utterly deplorable. Most licensed premises within Westminster City Council will have a condition requiring CCTV, I wonder if this extends to the Houses of Parliament or are they excluded as a designated Royal Palace? Either way I would enjoy that footage appearing at some point in the future, what a perfect training tool that would make…

That Mr Joyce was then arrested and taken to a police station where he reportedly proceeded to break a window, just reflects on the standard of behaviour we have to eradicate from our communities.

The reports suggest that these assaults and subsequent arrests were preceded by loud signing and tables & chairs being strewn around the bar at its conclusion. This was no more than a brawl in a badly run bar; I note, no mention is made of the action taken by the staff to manage the situation. What of the offences of ‘not serving alcohol to a person who appears to be drunk’ or ‘allowing disorderly conduct’?

There has been a suggestion that the government is planning to remove ‘distance’ as a reason for a representation to be considered ‘irrelevant’… maybe if this does happen, it will soon be time to check if the bars in the Houses of Parliament are licensed and if so, to request a Review of the Premises Licence on the basis that the permitted behaviour undermines the licensing objective of ‘Prevention of Crime & Disorder’…

As for Eric Joyce MP, he was lucky to avoid a custodial sentence and had the offence taken place a few months after it did, we might even have seen an MP with a Sobriety Order and an alcohol monitoring ankle tag…

Date – 9^th March 2012

Submitted by – Peter Mayhew is the Managing Director of Beyond the Blue Training & Consultancy.

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