BREWER Malcolm MacDonald wasn't be raising his glass to the decision to freeze duty on beer.

"This won't do us any good at all. We needed a duty cut to help stop the smuggled beer that is coming over the Channel, and a freeze won't help a bit," stormed Mr MacDonald, of Burnley brewery Moorhouses.

"I would have liked to have seen a cut of at least five or ten pence.

"At first we thought that the North West would be isolated from all the beer being brought over the Channel, but that just isn't happening."

And he didn't believe the penny cut in income tax would have a major impact on consumer spending.

"A penny off everyone means a lot to the Government but I'm not sure it means that much to the public."

Next month Blackburn brewers Thwaites launch a beer called Smuggler's' Grog - a timely reminder that the industry believes the impact of bootleg beer will cost British jobs.

Pub landlord John Broderick said although a cut in duty would have been more welcome, he called on breweries to follow the Chancellor's lead.

"If they froze prices as well instead of imposing an annual increase I'm sure it would help," said John, mine host of the Brewery Tap in Blackburn and chairman of the North West region of the Licensed Victuallers' Association.

"But I would have liked to see the Chanceller knock at least 10p a pint off. Bootlegging is killing the pub trade. Something has to be done."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.