I think you will find that it was fallout from the incidents below that drove this demand for photo ID to verify age and the reason I know this was I was in the queue behind someone who I would guess was a wealthy pensioner, who wanted to buy a bottle of something to take to Bermuda/Barbados (or some similar destination), only to be asked for his passport by a woman serving on the counter. When she told him she needed to verify his age, the old boy had an apopletic fit and stormed out. I could see his point, under age drinkers don't usually have silver hair, hearing aids and bi-focals Definitely a case of 'computer says no.'

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/84139...nderage_sales/

Three years on, clearly the staff either don't remember or have been recruited since and not properly trained.