Report calls for end to happy hour

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LONDON, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- A British parliamentary panel is recommending an end to happy hour and drink discounts to cut down on the number of alcohol-related crimes.

The Home Affairs Select Committee issued a report on policing Monday calling for a government ban on cheap drink promotions due to an increase of 25 percent in the number of violent crimes committed in the early morning hours, The Times of London reports.

According to the panel, 45 percent of victims of violence told police their assailant was under the influence of alcohol at the time.

The panel also expressed concern that police staffing seems to be geared to "deploying sufficient resources at weekends to cope with alcohol-fueled disorder and football violence."

"We cannot have on one hand a world of alcohol promotions for profit that fuels surges of crime and disorder and on the other the police diverting all their resources to cope with it," said Kenneth Vaz, chairman of the panel.