How ministers 'caved into the alcohol lobby' over minimum alcohol price Former health minister Anna Soubry met with Heineken to discus policy Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt discussed options with Asda chief executive Policy to target cheap alcohol was abandoned in July Promise: David Cameron has pledged to target cheap alcohol and put in a minimum price of 40p per unit Campaigners have accused ministers of caving in to pressure from the drinks and supermarket industries to drop plans to impose a minimum price for alcohol. David Cameron had pledged to target cheap alcohol, saying a minimum price of 40p per unit could mean 50,000 fewer crimes and save 900 lives by the end of the decade. The Prime Minister even acknowledged the policy would not be popular, but insisted the responsibility of being in government meant doing "the right thing" rather than the popular thing. However, the policy was abandoned in July, with the Government claiming there was not enough evidence minimum pricing would be effective without penalising responsible drinkers. Now an investigation has found industry lobbyists had at least 130 meetings with ministers and officials in the run-up to the u-turn and key evidence in favour of the policy had been suppressed. It revealed Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt had met Asda's chief executive Andy Clarke to discuss alternative measures that would not "burden" their customers and "penalise the poor." He also had a meeting with Tesco executives to discuss their concerns. Anna Soubry, who was then a health minister, had meetings with Heineken, the Wine and Spirit Trade Association and the British Beer and Pub Association - giving them a degree of access denied to public health activists. These three meetings were held after the end of a consultation period on the policy - when campaigners still thought it was going ahead. The investigation, by the British Medical Journal, claims ministers suppressed two reports that provided evidence that minimum unit prices would not penalise moderate drinkers or the poor. And it highlights the close relationship between alcohol companies and senior politicians; Chancellor George Osborne was handed an award by the all-party group on beer, while Treasury minister Sajid Javid had an ale named after him. Tory MP Sarah Wollaston said the revelations showed that ministers listened more to an industry worried about its profits than they did to experts in public health. "To my mind the alcohol industry has undue influence within Parliament," she said. I was surprised to read about their level of access. Ministers held a public consultation last year asking at what level a minimum alcohol price should be set - 40p a unit, 45p or 50p. The consultation ended in February, but three months later Mr Hunt met Asda boss Mr Clarke after the supermarket contacted the Department of Health to request an opportunity to discuss alternatives to minimum pricing "that will encourage responsible alcohol use without penalising poorer families." Briefing notes for Mr Hunt, seen by the BMJ, show that the Health Secretary was advised to say: "Government is still considering the issue. Could be open to alternative proposals from industry. Welcome Asda's views on this. Two months later, the then Home Office minister Jeremy Browne announced no minimum price would be set because there was no "concrete evidence" the plan would not penalise moderate drinkers. But the BMJ investigation found that there was such evidence, and that ministers suppressed two reports from Sheffield University that undermined their case for scrapping minimum pricing. Mr Cameron's change of heart sparked claims that he had been influenced by his party's election strategist, Australian lobbyist Lynton Crosby, whose firm is reported to have represented drinks giants. Dr Wollaston criticised ministers for putting pressure on Sheffield University to delay publication of the two reports until after Mr Browne's statement. Discussions: Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt (left) met with Asda's chief executive Andy Clarke to talk about alternatives which would not 'burden' customers and 'penalise the poor' "The job of government is to put information in the public domain rather than asking Sheffield to withhold publication - and Sheffield should not have agreed," she said. Professor Ian Gilmore, special adviser on alcohol to the Royal College of Physicians, called on the Government to "stop dancing to the tune of the drinks industry and prioritise the health of the public." A spokesman for the DoH said minimum unit pricing is still under consideration and "utterly rejected" the allegation that anything untoward had happened in meetings with the alcohol industry. Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said: "After the tobacco industry last year, these revelations raise yet more concerns about the influence of big business on this Government's policies."