March 6, 2007 15:31

Call for action on ticket touts

The government urged to crack down on touts

Photo Gallery: Take That
Photo: Pa Photos

The government have been called to do more to crack down on ticket touts selling concert and festival tickets.

MP John Robertson told the House Of Commons that some websites had been offering tickets for the new Take That tour for twice the face value before they even went on sale.

He said: “It is not time the government did something about this ticket touting and make sure the people that do it end up in jails?”

MP Pete Wishart, who is a former member of Runrig, said: “Why is it being left to the music industry to try and address this problem? Surely the government should be doing more to protect music fans from this touting.”

However, despite condemning the practice, the government as refusing to make touting illegal. Creative Industries Minister Shaun Woodward said fans did not want the government to “over-intervene”.

According to BBC NEws, Woodward said: “Members of the public, where it is fair, went to the facility to be able to sell on tickets themselves. We condemn the practice where it’s wrong but it’s also important to get a grip on how proportionate this is because it is only a minority who do this - albeit a minority we condemn.”