A 6% "alcohol-fuelled" rise in violent crime recorded by the police yesterday triggered demands that the government postpone next month's move to relax the drinking laws.
Chris Fox, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), said the increase partly reflected police operations targeting alcohol-fuelled violence and warned that the campaign, including the adoption of a zero tolerance approach to drunk and disorderly behaviour, would be stepped up in the approach to Christmas.