Member

I hope the Minister will agree not to accept this amendment. She has, in the nicest possible way, not accepted a single amendment so far put forward by this Committee, so it would seem illogical and unfair to accept just this one. I would be grateful if she would consider the economic impact because these sampling rooms occasionally used by people wishing to buy cigars are a very important trade point for this country and a legitimate industry. I spoke to the proprietor of a sampling room in the Peninsula Hotel. The hotel is a £1 billion investment in this city that employs many hundreds of people. The sampling room at the top of the hotel has had millions of pounds invested in it in terms of stock supplied by one of the main suppliers of cigars of all descriptions, but particularly Cuban cigars—Hunters & Frankau—and it represents a significant proportion of its revenue. By unnecessarily trying to deal with a problem that does not exist, we would be creating enormous economic hardship, a dislocation of trade and the reduction of London as a crucial hub for investment from hotels.