Pub drinking and last orders

deed02392

Hi all, yesterday I was out at a friend's local pub. I walked in and right to the bar, where they happily served me a pint. I went to find my friends and sat with them to enjoy my drink. About 30 seconds later security comes round to tell us to drink up and get lost astl they're closing in 3 minutes.

I was pretty upset at having to rush me drink as typically you're given warning by way of last orders, but my friends heard no such call and they are regulars here.

Do I have the right to refuse to leave until I've finished in my own time? When you buy a drink at a pub aren't you entitled to drink it in the pub?

Interesting!

baza52

they have a RIGHT to ask you leave.

paddyrg

deed02392 wrote: »

Do I have the right to refuse to leave until I've finished in my own time? When you buy a drink at a pub aren't you entitled to drink it in the pub? !

Not if it is in opposition to their license. They probably shouldn't really have sold you the pint, but then where would you be?

Itismehonest

Since the Licensing Act changed Drinking Up time no longer exists.
In fact, if you refuse to leave the premises you are breaking the law.

unholyangel

Itismehonest wrote: »

Since the Licensing Act changed Drinking Up time no longer exists.
In fact, if you refuse to leave the premises you are breaking the law.

Out of curiousity, what law would that be breaking?

deed02392

paddyrg wrote: »

Not if it is in opposition to their license. They probably shouldn't really have sold you the pint, but then where would you be?

Well this is what I was getting at - if they've sold me the pint at the bar, isn't the assumption that I'd be able to finish consuming it? It would violate their license if I took it outside the pub (I think), but then what am I expected to do with it, abandon it and lose out on £3 quid or a fiver or whatever multiplied by however many I bought because they sold me it when they shouldn't have?

aldredd

unholyangel wrote: »

Out of curiousity, what law would that be breaking?

I'm not sure which law, but he is correct. A licensed premises can refuse to serve / ask to someone to leave / refuse entry / take drink off someone for pretty much any reason they like so long as it's not due to discrimination of race / disability / sex etc (which means yes, it's pretty much illegal for clubs to allow more females than males in etc) - not only that, but don't have to give a reason why. (Which slightly contradicts the point about not discriminating)

(I'm an ex license holder, having held both on & off premises licenses - but been a few years so can't promise nothing has changed)

Itismehonest

As with so many laws, it's a bit of a mess.

Drinking-up time
The consumption of alcohol itself, is not considered a "licensable activity" under the new Licensing Act. Therefore "drinking-up time" (DUT) has no legal meaning & has disappeared. For many years 10 minutes (& later extended to 20 minutes) was the legal dispensation which allowed the consumption of alcohol to continue after the official closing time, which in recent times meant that customers could still drink what they had already bought until 23:20 on weekdays, subject to the licensee's discretion. After that time consumption had to also stop.
With the end of standard permitted hours, this concession became irrelevant & there is no mention of DUT in the 2003 Act. Instead, applicants for premises licences can specify the maximum period (their "Opening Hours") for which they wish to allow their customers to stay after the time at which the sale of alcohol ends ("the terminal hour") within their Operating Schedule. In practice, many licensees simply do not specify opening hours at all, which allows an unspecified drinking up time, determined only by the licensee's discretion. In contrast, some licensees call for "last orders" 20 minutes (or more) before the end of the opening hours specified on their premises' licence.

As to which law gets broken, I think it depends on circumstances.
For instance, if you've already had a few you could be guilty of Failure To Leave a Licensed Premises etc. (Drunk & Disorderly) under Section 143