Coalition battle looms over drug law reform as MPs fear “soft” approach

A battle is looming within the Government over reform of Britain’s drug laws between those who privately favour liberalisation and those who insist on a policy based on “abstinence”.

Plans are being drawn up to re-examine Britain’s approach, modelled on a the review in Portugal a decade ago that recommended the decriminalisation of all drugs and the treatment of addiction purely as a health problem, with widely praised results.

Reform there came after recommendations from a high-level commission of doctors and lawyers, and some in the coalition want to set up a commission in Britain to investigate what Britain can learn from other countries.

The proposal is being resisted by the Tory Right, and yesterday James Brokenshire, the Crime Prevention Minister, insisted that Britain would not adopt Portuguese-style policies.

“We do not believe the liberalisation of our drugs laws is the answer,” he said. “Decriminalisation fails to recognise the complexity of the problem and gives insufficient regard to the harms that drugs pose to the individual.”

A new drug policy introduced last year puts greater emphasis on moving users towards leading a drug-free life rather than simply dealing with the harm caused by their addiction. The policy was a compromise between those taking a more pragmatic approach and others in the Conservative Party who wanted an “abstinence” approach. “Basically the policy was a huge fudge,” a Whitehall source said.

Tim Godwin, Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan police, acknowledged yesterday that Britain’s strategy was failing because it was not getting addicts off drugs. “We haven’t got it right at the moment,” he said.

Ministers are terrified of public wrath if they are seen as “soft” on drugs, according to Baroness Meacher, chairwoman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Policy Reform, which was set up to promote alternative approaches. She says that she has the support of several very senior figures who are afraid to go public.

“We have been encouraged to encourage debate,” she told The Times. “There are many people who would like to see rational, evidence-based policies, but serious politicians are very nervous of drug policy review. Privately, politicians of all parties will say that our current drug policies are disastrous.”

David Cameron, when he was a backbench MP, said that Britain’s drug policy was an “abject failure” and that fresh thinking and a new approach were needed, including “shooting galleries”, where heroin addicts could inject safely. As Prime Minister, he has remained largely silent on the issue.