Downing Street has intervened in a row over proposed drinking restrictions in London's West End, urging Westminster City Council to work with the hospitality industry after Mayor Sadiq Khan accused the council of a "village-hall mindset". The dispute centres on the council's draft licensing policy, which encourages pubs and bars to favour table seating over standing "vertical drinking" space, prompting warnings from businesses that Soho could become "sanitised" and lose custom to other parts of the capital.

Westminster's Conservative leader, Paul Swaddle, insisted there is "no plan" to ban standing drinking and blamed media coverage for "confusing stories", noting the policy is still out for public consultation, with the survey closing on 9 August. The draft also proposes normally refusing new licences in the West End's cumulative impact zone, covering Oxford Street to Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square and Soho. A No 10 spokesperson said busy pubs represent "British life" and thousands of jobs, adding that licensing powers are being devolved to the Mayor, while Swaddle hit back at Khan, saying the council approves over 98% of licence applications and accusing City Hall of directing police to object to new licences.