The head of Kent brewer Shepherd Neame has refuted claims that the drinks industry is helping to fuel 'booze Britain’.

Jonathan Neame said he does not believe bars and pubs are more interested in making money than encouraging adults to drink responsibly, and branded recent suggestions of banning of happy hours and large measures at the bar as 'pathetic’.

He said: “I think people do believe we are living in binge drinking culture, but that is very different from facts.

“Britain is well down the drinking table in Europe, and alcohol consumption is falling faster here than anywhere else in Europe.

“The culture has changed a lot, in that it has shifted from pubs to the home, and of course there are issues. But there is also the sense of an ill-founded perception (of drinking) in the UK.”

A recent Government commission report that saw researchers visit hundreds of pubs, bars, nightclubs, off-licences and supermarkets around the UK raised serious concerns about how responsible establishments are being in regards to promoting 'harmful drinking practices’.

The Department of Health is also expected to publish a review looking at the link between alcohol abuse and price promotion, such as two-for-one deals and happy hours, in the next few weeks.

But Mr Neame said it was unfair for the survey to visit bars in 'known binge drinking areas’ and to then 'tar the remaining 250,000 licensed premises in the UK with the same brush’.

He said: “We in the trade are very, very disappointed by quality of the research that keeps being thrown at us.

“This report refers to practices that were eradicated some time ago, and the evidence and methodology behind it seems very sketchy.

“It flies in the face of lots and lots of hard hitting evidence from Government and police stings which suggest the problem of operating licensed premises is reducing pretty fast.”

Shepherd Neame produces various ales and beers in Kent, and has 300 pubs across the county. Mr Neame said none of their establishments have 'happy hours’, as they did not think it was necessary.

He said: “Very few places still have them, and for the Government to be worrying about serving 125ml or 175ml glasses is equally pathetic – the consumer is very able to choose.”

When asked if he thought some bars and pubs were more interested in making money than promoting responsible drinking in adults, Mr Neame said: “I don’t think that’s true.

“The industry is investing millions in training and education, and I think it takes a very, very responsible attitude to retailing and the promotion of alcohol.”

He added that current licensing laws allowed local authorities to take action against any establishment causing concern, and it was up to the communities upset with particular pubs or retailers to use those powers.