Westminster wants changes to the new drinking laws

Westminster City Council, the largest licensing authority in the country, says more police and better public transport are needed before any changes are made.

It has been lobbying for changes to the draft licensing legislation, which would allow bars to apply for licenses to serve alcohol all night.

Now the council has written to the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) and Transport for London (TFL) about its concerns.

Westminster has been told no extra police officers will be allocated to patrol its streets this year.

And there are fears Londoners who stay out late to take advantage of longer drinking hours, will find themselves stranded.

Councillor Tim Mitchell said: "We have already asked for the Tube to run 24 hours on Friday and Saturday nights to help us deal with the thousands of people that throng the West End throughout the night.

"If we are going to have 24-hour drinking we need 24-hour transport. More money needs to come from the government and TfL to improve the tube and bus system and make London the equal to New York."