Labour party officials may care to check out the following sections of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 and the huge applicable fines – none of which I have seen mentioned to date in any form of media.
Now that we know there was a walk-in chiller and a mountain of booze, these clauses of the Act are particularly pertinent.
235 Use of unlicensed premises as place of resort for consumption of alcohol
(1) A person who is the occupier, or has or takes part in the care, management, or control, of any unlicensed premises commits an offence if that person allows those premises to be kept or used as a place of resort for the consumption of alcohol.
(2) A person who commits an offence against subsection (1) is liable on conviction to a fine of not more than $20,000.
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to the consumption of alcohol—
(a) by any person on any premises on which that person resides, whether that person is the occupier of the premises or not; or
(b) supplied to any person by way of gift by any person who resides on the premises on which the alcohol is consumed.(4) A person who acts as, or as if he or she were, an occupier or a person having any part in the care, management, or control of any premises is to be treated as an occupier of the premises, but without affecting the liability of any other person.
(5) Premises may be treated as being kept or used as a place of resort for the consumption of alcohol even though they are open only for the use of particular people or particular classes of person, and not to all people who wish to use them.
and;
236 People found on unlicensed premises kept as place of resort for consumption of alcohol
(1) A person who is not a constable acting in the execution of his or her duty commits an offence if he or she is found on any unlicensed premises kept or used in breach of section 235.
(2) A person who commits an offence against subsection (1) is liable on conviction to a fine of not more than $2,000.
(3) It is a defence to a charge under subsection (1) if the defendant satisfies the court that he or she—
(a) was present on the premises for a lawful purpose; and
(b) neither took part nor intended to take part in any unlawful sale, supply, or consumption of alcohol.
and;
241 Supplying alcohol to minors
(1) A person who supplies alcohol to a minor commits an offence.
(2) A person who commits an offence against subsection (1) is liable on conviction to a fine of not more than $2,000.
(3) It is a defence to a charge under subsection (1) if the person supplying the alcohol (the supplier)—
(a) is a parent or guardian of the minor, and supplies the alcohol in a responsible manner; or
(b) believes on reasonable grounds that the minor is not a minor; or
(c) believes on reasonable grounds that subsection (7) applies to the minor, and supplies the alcohol in a responsible manner; or
(d) believes on reasonable grounds that he or she has the express consent of the parent or guardian of the minor, and supplies the alcohol in a responsible manner.(4) When considering for the purposes of subsection (3)(a), (c), or (d) whether alcohol was supplied to any person in a responsible manner, the court may, in relation to the occasion on which the alcohol was supplied, take into account the following:
(a) the steps taken by the supplier to supervise the consumption of alcohol:
(b) whether food was provided with the alcohol:
(c) whether a choice of low-alcohol or non-alcoholic beverages, or both, was offered:
(d) the nature of the occasion:
(e) any arrangements for, or provision of, safe transport:
(f) the period over which the alcohol was supplied:
(g) the strength and volume of the alcohol supplied:
(h) the age of the minor:
(i) any other matter it thinks relevant in the particular circumstances.(5) Subsection (1) applies irrespective of any liability that may attach to the licensee or any manager or other person in respect of the sale or supply of the alcohol.
(6) A person does not commit an offence against subsection (1) by supplying alcohol to a person who then supplies it to a third person who is a minor, unless it is proved that the person knew or had reasonable grounds to believe that the alcohol was intended for a minor.
(7) This subsection applies to the minor at any time if he or she is then no longer subject to guardianship by operation of section 28 of the Care of Children Act 2004.
That is almost impossible for Labour to get out of. The supplier of the booze and the supervisor of the camp are in the gun. Ultimately, they are also responsible for the ensuing alleged sexual assaults.
Labour can’t escape their responsibilities. They even had someone at the camp who runs a bar in his private life. He knows what host responsibility is, and the adults in charge should have known what “duty of care” and “in loco parentis” mean as well.
They should be for the high jump. We shall see.