Furore over bookings

29 September 2000

Furore over bookings

THE Countryside Alliance has accused Labour Party conference organisers of asking the Grand Hotel in Brighton to bar the organisation from booking a room to hold a private press reception.

A letter from the hotel to the alliance said that the Labour Party had instructed staff to explain that the room could not be made available because the police had advised the meeting could pose a security risk.

But the Sussex Police special unit responsible for public order at the conference has refuted the claim and said such a function did not have any security aspects. &#42