Off-licences lobbied to get earlier minimum unit pricing

Coalition aims to introduce new pricing laws in January despite concerns it may fuel the cross-border alcohol trade

Evelyn Jones, a director of the National Off-Licence Association (Noffla), wrote to Stephen Donnelly in October and played down concerns about cross- border shopping

Off-licences lobbied the Department of Health to push forward with minimum unit pricing (MUP) without waiting for alignment with Northern Ireland in an effort to stop supermarkets offering discounts on alcohol sales.

The government last week announced that MUP would come into effect from January despite concerns that it would lead to an increase in cross-border shopping if alcohol was significantly cheaper in the North.

Evelyn Jones, a director of the National Off-Licence Association (Noffla), ...