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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Hague infuriated over Lilley's call on cannabis Deputy Political Editor Daily Mail UK Monday 20 Sep 1999 Source: Daily Mail UK Pub Date: Tuesday September 20 1999 Author: Deputy Political Editor Hague infuriated over Lilley's call on cannabis WILLIAM HAGUE slapped down Peter Lilley last night after the former deputy Tory leader indicated he will call for the decriminalisation of cannabis. Mr Lilley, who was dropped from the shadow cabinet over the summer, has been moving towards a radical stance on drug issues. Now outside the constraints of shadow cabinet responsibilities, he is free to present the views that deviate so sharply from traditional Tory thinking. But when news of Mr Lilley's intentions leaked last night, Mr Hague was infuriated at what he sees as another example of his former deputy's bizarre lack of political nous. The controversy comes at a difficult time fro Mr Hague desperately trying to re-establish the Tory Party as a force in main-stream politics. The spectacle of the man who only a few months ago as in charge of Tory policy proposing the decriminalisation of cannabis caused consternation at Tory headquarters yesterday. Only a week ago Mr Hague told political journalists that drug dealers who at=re twice convicted of supplying hard drugs to children should get life sentences. Last night a spokesman for Mr Hague tried to distance the Tory leader from the embarrassment. he said: "William's position is perfectly clear. He is firmly opposed to all forms of illegal drug taking. We are opposed to the legalisation of cannabis. "It is crystal clear. Only a week ago Mr Hague called for tougher penalties for people pushing drugs to children. Peter Lilley is not front bencher. When he was, he fully supported the party line. What he is saying now is not the leadership's view." Mr Lilley's decision to discuss his views in a series of speeches is seen as the act of a man still bitter at his treatment by the leadership, although he has insisted that he is still "100 per cent loyalist." The former Tory Social Security Secretary has discussed this radical approach towards drugs policy with friends. They looked at ways of distinguishing between people who bought cannabis for their own use and those who make a living out of hard drugs. The Tory leadership is highly sensitive about the decriminalisation of drugs. One of Mr Hague's front bench spokesmen, Alan Duncan, dropped a chapter on his own views on drugs from a book last year.
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