§ 12. Mr. Andrew MacKayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on illegal drug trafficking in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. BrittanThe Government recognise the evidence of rapid and substantial growth in illegal trafficking of controlled drugs, particularly heroin, and are committed to action aimed at preventing illegal importation, stopping the supply within the United Kingdom and reducing it at source.
§ Mr. MacKayWill my right hon. and learned Friend comment on the Lord Chief Justice's Darwin lecture, when Lord Lane made the serious allegation that the Government were doing nothing to stem what he called the flow of death—heroin from Pakistan?
§ Mr. BrittanThe Lord Chief Justice was doing a public service by drawing attention to the magnitude of the problem. However, it is also right to draw attention to the offer of aid for law enforcement activities in Pakistan, worth 180,000 in this financial year, which is currently being considered by the Government of Pakistan. There is close co-operation between the Pakistan law enforcement agencies and our own customs and police, and other action is being taken. I readily agree that we should look for ways to improve the position.
§ Mr. Alex CarlileWhat steps do the Government propose to take to ensure that it is less easy for hard drugs to be stolen from chemists' shops and doctors' surgeries?
§ Mr. BrittanThe hon. Gentleman is referring to the report on security from the Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs, which was published yesterday. The report recommends a number of improvements in security arrangements. I am urgently seeking views on its recommendations and intend to announce my decision when I have considered them.
§ Mrs. Kellett-BowmanDoes my right hon. and learned Friend accept that we place such countries as Thailand in a difficult position when we urge them to tighten up their defences against drug trafficking, and then raise a furore when they imprison our youngsters'? We cannot have it both ways.
§ Mr. BrittanI would never raise a furore about citizens of the United Kingdom being punished for offences that would be serious offences in this country.
§ Mr. SkinnerHow can we have any faith in a Government's attempt to control drug trafficking, or to find where the £27 million that was snatched from under the noses of the police at Heathrow has gone, when that Government are more concerned with directing police to guard the Yankee bases and to protect rogue employers such as Eddie Shah? If they got their priorities right they might control drug trafficking.
§ Mr. BrittanThe hon. Gentleman is not making a useful contribution to this problem.
§ Mr. DubsIs not the Home Secretary being complacent about Britain's hard drug problem, which all social agencies say is virtually out of control? What specific proposals does he have to tackle that problem?
§ Mr. BrittanThe hon. Gentleman has not heard me say anthing that remotely smacks of complacency. He should know that police drug squads are increasingly concentrating their resources against major traffickers. I shall be meeting representatives of the Association of Chief Police Officers later today to discuss ways in which police efforts to bring traffickers to justice can be strengthened.