LANDLORDS are up in arms after Richmond and Twickenham were highlighted as areas where alcohol fuelled crime and violence are spiralling out of control.

The towns fell under the spotlight as examples of areas suffering from anti-social drinking after a government report on plans to curb binge -drinking', was published on Monday.

An emergency meeting of Richmond's landlords, police and Richmond's council leader took place yesterday (Thursday) to stamp on' the negative image and demonstrate that they do not condone binge drinking.

MP Vincent Cable has been accused of tarnishing Twickenham's name after appearing on a Sky News report on Saturday night in Twickenham town centre, which showed people misbehaving in the background.

But the newspaper article which caused most upset reported that the Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner Sir Ian Blair had described Richmond as one of the towns which was becoming a violent no-go area'.

Leader of Richmond Council Cllr Tony Arbour was particularly incensed by the coverage. He said: "Sir Ian did not say that at all. He did not say anything about no-go areas. It is a damaging thing for them to report and publicans are very angry," he said.

"The articles are being written because of Richmond's reputation, they are trying to show that a place that has a good reputation is really bad underneath the skin. But the whole thing is totally irresponsible and damaging to the town and the image conflicts with the facts. This is something which has to be stamped on and that is why the publicans are holding an emergency meeting."

Matt Nicol, landlord of the Racing Page and chairman of Richmond's Pubwatch scheme, to which 40 pubs belong said: "We are all concerned that Richmond is being classed as a no-go area. The main problem in the town is that there is no infrastructure for getting rid of people when they pile out of pubs at 1am. When you look at the problem you need to examine it from different areas, not just pubs.

"We are holding the meeting to say we do not promote binge drinking and that we do not condone it. We want to combat binge drinking by having drink promotions stopped across the town. My pub has a friendly and safe atmosphere and you have to pay for that. We also want to get transport in the town sorted out.

"I rang around the Pubwatch members to get views and we all feel the same way, that Richmond is being used as a scapegoat. We want to keep Richmond a safe and attractive place to drink."

Chief Inspector Simon Phipps, borough liaison officer stressed that Richmond was still the safest borough in London and that the issue had to be kept in perspective. He said: "We have seen a rise in the percentage of alcohol related crime, but in real terms the numbers of incidents are still low." He added that tackling anti-social behaviour was the police's priority in the coming year with the imminent launch of Operation Peacemaker' which aims to reduce the problem by 20 per cent.

Twickenham MP Vincent Cable was also criticised by the council leader after appearing on Sky News. Cllr Arbour said: "The TV shots clearly showed youngsters misbehaving for the benefit of the cameras, it was quite irresponsible for the MP to encourage this hooliganism. He should have praised the police for making the borough the safest in London, for being only the second borough to employ its own Police and Community Support Officers, for its willingness to impose anti social behaviour orders and he should have thanked the council for investing more money in CCTV and community safety over the past two years than in the previous twenty. It is disgraceful that our MP should sell Twickenham and the police short."

Following the interview Dr Cable commented: "After criticising the growth of anti-social drinking in Twickenham last year I have seen evidence of tougher admission policies by bouncers, better use of two-way radios and more police patrols. But there is simply too much licensed capacity in Twickenham and the new licensing authority and the council have to get to grips with this issue. I also support David Blunkett's suggestion that licensed premises should make a financial contribution to extra police patrols in town centres based on the drinking capacity."

l Barnes off licence caught in sting - page 3 l Comment - page 9