Spirits sore in 1m sales drop

WHISKY sales plunged by a million bottles after the Budget tax rise of 3.9%.

Sales in the six months to June dropped to 36.7 million after the move in March raised the average price by 36p to £12.77 – £10.18 of which is tax.

It cost Chancellor Philip Hammond £54million in lost revenue from April to June, the Scotch Whisky Association said.

A tax cut in next month’s Budget would show that he “believed in a worldfamous industry”, it said.