A REFUSAL by an Edinburgh pub to serve a Spanish family has led to an international spat and calls for an inquiry, MSPs will hear this week.

The European Parliament recently contacted Holyrood after the capital's Conan Doyle pub reportedly refused to serve a Spanish girl who gave her national identity card as proof of age.

After the knockback, the girl's father complained to the European Parliament. Italian MEP Erminia Mazzoni, president of its Committee on Petitions, then complained to her Holyrood counterpart.

Mazzoni said: "The managers of the pub should have accepted the identity card issued by Spain as proof of age.

"The members of the Committee on Petitions hope that this is an isolated case of infringement of rights of European citizens."

She then asked for an investigation and help to ensure that EU rules on identity papers are "understood and applied in Scotland".

MSPs on Holyrood's European and External Affairs Committee will discuss the affair on Tuesday.

Under Scottish licensing law, bar staff can be prosecuted for serving someone under 18 unless they have checked their passport, EU photo driving licence or another specified document. However, EU identity cards – despite being accepted at UK border controls instead of passports – are not an acceptable proof of age in Scottish pubs.

It means if staff serve alcohol to someone underage based on a European ID card, they have no defence against prosecution.

Last month, in what the SNP government says was a coincidence, Scottish ministers began consulting on extending the list of proof of age documents to include EU identity cards, and a change in the law is now expected later this year.

A Government spokesman said: "Proof of age is a difficult area for both retailers and customers. The proposals in the consultation recognise this, and propose a way of improving the position for both parties."