The violent clashes that came after Rangers' Uefa cup defeat in Manchester have lent new urgency to attempts by Scottish ministers to crack down on the booze culture that has brought shame on the country.

Kenny MacAskill, the Justice Minister, has vowed to introduce urgent reforms to the drinking laws after the ugly scenes that erupted last week, saying that they had “tarnished the nation”.

Among the measures being considered are a tax on alcohol, a ban on cut-price drink promotions in supermarkets and fines for the parents of children who drink alcohol.

The Scottish government yesterday revealed that the Office of Fair Trading has given the go-ahead for a hike in alcohol prices aimed at tackling the country's binge-drinking culture.

Mr MacAskill said: “The issue of price is one that we are looking at carefully. Scots are drinking far too much and this is affecting us as individuals, communities and as a nation.

“When a bottle of high-alcohol cider can be cheaper than water, when it's cheaper for young people to buy drink than go to the cinema or play football, it is clear that we need to act.”

The move to curb alcohol sales came as Greater Manchester Police insisted yesterday that the fans behind the violence last Wednesday were Rangers supporters who had travelled from Glasgow.

Rangers Football Club said last week that those involved were not people with a history of following the club, and some supporters have suggested that English football casuals were to blame.

Inspector Dave Sacks, from the Manchester force, said that they had no information that other fans were responsible. He said: “Ultimately those that we arrested were all from Glasgow - or at least Scotland - and they were not picked out indiscriminately, they were picked out because they were involved in trouble.

“If other ‘firms' were involved you would expect one or two fans from England to be among those arrested.”

Mr MacAskill told the Association of Police Superintendents that the violence was shameful and unacceptable.

A government source added: “Alcohol was a major contributory factor in the events in Manchester. Nobody can be left in any doubt that the culture needs to be tackled.”

The Scottish government will publish a consultation paper this month on the nation's drinking culture. A spokeswoman yesterday described as “speculation” reports that the government was planning to introduce a 50p tax on alcohol so as to raise the price. But the government has admitted that it is determined to end the heavy discounting of alcohol in supermarkets. The Justice Minister has made it clear that he wants “three for two” deals on alcohol to be banned.

The government also confirmed that it is considering increasing the age at which people are allowed to buy alcohol.

A report this month found that alcohol abuse is costing Scotland £2.25 billion a year.

Meanwhile figures that showed that less than a fifth of cases where alcohol was sold to youngsters led to a prosecution were described yesterday as totally unacceptable.

Margaret Smith, the Liberal Democrat justice spokeswoman, called for a crackdown on “rogue retailers” who sell alcohol to underage drinkers.

She made the demand after statistics revealed that in 2005-06 there were a total of 357 offences recorded by the police of a licensed person selling drink to someone under the age of 18, but there were only 70 prosecutions.

The figures were revealed by Mr MacAskill in response to a parliamentary question from the Liberal Democrats.

Mrs Smith said: “The First Minister promised that his government will focus on tackling our alcohol culture. Before he gets carried away with new initiatives to tackle Scotland's booze problems, his ministers need to make sure that existing laws are enforced.”

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