JUST THE TICKET

Resale price cap to end era of huge fortunes for selfish scalpers grasping sites: Your time is up

- BY MARK McGIVERN

GREEDY touts fleecing live music fans are set for a legal hammer blow as the Labour Government brings in a ticket resale price cap.

The Daily Record can reveal the Government is set to introduce laws to cripple the operations of touts who hoover up tickets using computer bots then hit fans with sky-high prices. UK minister of state for culture Ian Murray today tells the scalpers who have made a fortune by illegally harvesting tickets then selling them on for huge profit: "Your time is up."

Writing exclusively in the Record, Murray reveals his anger at touts forcing fans to fork out fortunes to see their favourite bands.

The touts caused widespread fury by charging thousands of pounds for tickets for the recent Oasis tour.

And Murray says his department has its sights squarely set on the shameful resale platforms that have made millions from the criminals who have ridden roughshod over consumer laws.

Edinburgh MP Murray reveals today that a consultation launched earlier this year brought emphatic agreement from fans, promoters, venues and campaigners that a cap on resale ticket prices is long overdue.

And he has vowed to press ahead with the plan.

He writes: "We asked a direct question - should the UK follow countries like Ireland, where resale profiteering is capped in law?

"The response from fans could not have been a clearer - 'yes'. "So let me tell you what we're doing. First, we will cap resale prices. No more outrageous markups of 500 per cent or 1000 per cent.