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National Pubwatch celebrates 25th anniversary

Darren Norbury by Darren Norbury
1 August 2022
in UK Craft Beer
Reading Time: 3 mins read
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National Pubwatch (NPW), the voluntary organisation which supports more than 800 pubwatches and works to promote safe, secure, and social drinking environments, is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Steve Baker Red Lion
Steve Baker hands a commemorative coin to Sofia Vancke, manager of the Red Lion pub, in Westminster, where National Pubwatch began

The organisation is handing special commemorative coins, which feature the Red Lion pub in Westminster, London, on one side, to thank people within the industry for their support. 

Chair of National Pubwatch, Steve Baker OBE, said: “National Pubwatch has been helping local pubwatches for 25 years, ensuring that pubs and licensed premises can offer safe and responsible premises for people to drink in. 

“We would like to acknowledge everyone who has helped us along the way. We are a small, voluntary organisation that relies on donations to fund our work and would like to thank our supporters.

“The members of the National Pubwatch committee and our regional representatives are people that are dedicated to helping promote responsible social drinking environments. We are committed to helping licensees and the trade to continue to offer safe venues for the next 25 years and beyond.” 

Emma McClarkin OBE, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “For 25 years National Pubwatch has provided an invaluable service through helping to enable safe and comfortable drinking spaces for everyone across the country. 

“Working alongside businesses, local agencies, and the public pubwatch helps our industry thrive through the promotion and prioritisation of inclusion and community, and for that, we thank them.”

It was 1997 when two publicans and a former police chief set up National Pubwatch.

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The three founders — Raoul De Vaux, licensee and magistrate, often known as the ‘politicians’ publican’ during his stint at the Red Lion in Westminster, Malcolm Eidmans, a former police chief superintendent, and licensee Bill Stone — recognised the importance of supporting local pubwatches in their fight to provide safe drinking areas.

The aim of the organisation was to support existing pubwatch schemes, and to encourage the creation of new ones across the country.

The ethos, which is still relevant today, is that pubwatches should be run by licensee members for their own benefit, but that they should work positively in liaison with the police and local councils.

The last 25 years has seen a raft of groundbreaking developments. In 2009, the NPW Court Not Caution campaign led to

official recognition from the Sentencing Council that an assault on bar staff was an aggravating feature (a fact that increases the severity of an act).

In the same year, the Haverhill court case broke new legal ground. A builder called Francis Boyle tried to overturn a pubwatch ban in Haverhill, Suffolk. National Pubwatch approached JD Wetherspoon for help, who entered the

case as an ‘interested party’ and instructed Kingsley Napley to represent them. His Honour Judge Mackie QC held that individual licensees have an unrestricted right to exclude anyone, particularly those who they see as troublemakers, from their premises.

The ruling also said that licensees were entitled to form groups or associations to pool information and make the exclusion of potential troublemakers more organised and systematic.

National Pubwatch:

  • launched its first national conference in Clerkenwell, London, in 2003;
  • created the first national database of pubwatches in the UK;
  • encouraged and supported several pub companies to adopt positive policies towards pubwatch;
  • opened links with industry bodies and the Home Office to ensure it is regularly consulted on new legislation;
  • and provides support for various industry initiatives on social responsibility, such as the Proof of Age Standards Scheme and Best Bar None.
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Darren Norbury

Darren Norbury

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