Plans For Plain Cigarette Packs Shelved

Health campaigners have reacted with fury after Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced that a decision on the introduction of plain packaging for cigarettes has been postponed.

Mr Hunt said the Government wanted to see how a similar system recently introduced in Australia worked before deciding whether to go ahead in England.

"Having carefully considered these differing views, the Government has decided to wait until the emerging impact of the decision in Australia can be measured before we make a final decision on this policy in England," he said in a Commons written statement.

The move was widely expected after the Queen's Speech in May did not include any provision for legislation on the issue.

Nevertheless there was anger among health campaigners who accused ministers of putting profits ahead of children's health.

Cancer Research UK chief executive Dr Harpal Kumar said there was "strong evidence" that cigarette packaging did affect the take-up of smoking by children.

British Lung Foundation chief executive Dr Penny Woods described the decision as "bewildering".

Tory MP Sarah Wollaston, a GP who is strongly in favour of plain packaging, bitterly condemned the decision.

"RIP public health. A day of shame for this government; the only winners big tobacco, big alcohol and big undertakers," she wrote on her Twitter feed.

Public Health Minister Anna Soubry faced MPs' questions on the issue after Commons Speaker John Bercow granted an urgent question to her Labour shadow Diane Abbott.

But Mark Littlewood, director general of the free market Institute of Economic Affairs, welcomed Mr Hunt's rowing back on what he said was an "absurd" policy.

"Far from having a positive impact on health, plain packaging would be a boon for the black market and could potentially have done enormous harm to small businesses and economic growth," he said.

The move is seen by some to reflect the influence of the Tories' election strategist Lynton Crosby, who reportedly advised David Cameron to "get the barnacles off the boat" and concentrate on the core concerns of voters such as the economy.

Downing Street insisted that Mr Crosby was not involved in the decision to put plain packaging on hold and had not lobbied Mr Cameron on the issue.

A Number 10 spokesman said: "The Prime Minister has never been lobbied by Lynton Crosby on cigarette packaging. The important point to stress on this issue is that Lynton Crosby has had no involvement in the decision.

"He is not employed by the Government. He is employed by the Conservative Party as an adviser to the Conservative Party. He doesn't have a pass for Downing Street. He doesn't have a desk at Downing Street. Does he attend meetings at 10 Downing Street? Yes, he does."