JUDGES in England and Wales have warned government ministers to expect a huge increase in rapes, domestic violence and serious assaults as a result of the relaxation of drinking laws this year.

Senior judges have told the Home Office to expect incidences of alcohol-fuelled violent crime to soar when the new law allowing round-the-clock drinking comes into force in November.

A paper from the Council of Her Majesty’s Circuit Judges said: “Those who routinely see the consequences of drink-fuelled violence in offences of rape, grievous bodily harm and worse on a daily basis are in no doubt that an escalation of offences of this nature will inevitably be caused by the relaxation of liquor licensing which the Government has now authorised.”

Chief constables joined the assault on the plans, giving warning that British town centres could soon resemble notorious foreign holiday resorts such as Faliraki in Greece, where young Britons binge-drink and engage in sexual activity in public.

Cities and town councils also alerted the Government to the consequences of the longer opening hours. Birmingham City Council insisted that, without tough new measures, drunken violence may become “unmanageable”.

Ministers will be thrown on to the defensive by the attack on the changes to licensing laws from the council representing 636 circuit judges who deal with cases in the Crown Court in England and Wales. They warned the Home Office to expect an increase in drink-related violence on the streets and in the home and ridiculed ministerial suggestions that the new measures will lead to more responsible, “continental-style” drinking.

But it is the judges’ prediction that rapes and violent crime will rise that will cause most alarm in 10 Downing Street and the Home Office.

The judges were in no doubt that many crimes of violence are directly linked to the consequences of drunkenness, which fuels aggression and a loss of control. They are angry that the Government did not consult them before pressing ahead with what will be the biggest shake-up in the licensing laws for 90 years.

Last week, James Purnell, the Licensing Minister, rejected suggestions that the changes would increase binge drinking.But the judges said: “We regard it as wishful thinking to suppose that the introduction of the Licensing Act will bring about the cultural change which the Government envisages.” The paper said that the only way to curb alcohol-fuelled violence was to increase the price of drink to make it too expensive to drink to excess.

But the judges held out little prospect of the Government taking their advice. “Of course we do not expect the Government to heed this advice since it would be politically unacceptable,” the paper said.

As the judges delivered their verdict on the changes to the licensing laws, which come into effect on November 24, Britain’s chief constables echoed their concerns.

A paper from the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) said: “One only has to look to popular holiday destinations to see the effect of allowing British youth unrestricted access to alcohol.”

Acpo questioned the fundamental argument behind the Government’s policy, namely that variations in closing times would lead to less trouble at night. “The assertion that 11pm closing leads to binge drinking is simply not supported by the evidence,” the association said.

The criticisms are contained in four volumes of responses to a Home Office consultation paper on dealing with disorder on the streets. The responses were released yesterday at Westminster after being placed in the House of Commons library.

Last night, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said that the alcohol-related crime and disorder blighting Britain’s town and city centres was happening under the present legislation. A spokesman said: “That is why it needs reforming, to tackle head-on drink-fuelled violence.”

He added: “The Act is already delivering real progress by giving police a chance to comment on new licensing applications so that they can pick up problems that would have previously gone unnoticed.”

LEGAL OPINION

‘A gallon is common, 12 pints by no means rare. Often these quantities are diluted by spirits. It is becoming common for cocaine to be taken as well’

‘For a while these people are simply savages, angry, blind and brutal. They are in this condition because of what they have been drinking’

‘The situation is already grave, if not grotesque . . . making drinking facilities more widely available is close to lunacy’

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