Beer's too cheap

Wetherspoon's chairman Tim Martin is right to point out that government measures to cut binge drinking focus on the wrong target (your report, 2 January). He is also right to highlight the tough penalties on landlords who might transgress.

But he is wrong to suggest the government is solely to blame for driving responsible landlords out of business. I suspect his company's January sales campaign, selling beer for just 99p a pint, might do more to drive individual publicans out of business than any of the government's actions.

Mr Martin could do more by not joining supermarkets in selling alcohol at prices for which publicans can barely buy the products.

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Mr Martin, if you want to support publicans, abandon the idea of becoming the drinkers' equivalent of the "pound shop" and price your products to reflect their real value in commercial and socially responsible terms.

DAVID McNEIL

Argyle Place

Edinburgh

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