Subj: Tory MP toes the line on drug law

Date: Jun 8, 1998

Source: The Independent

By Fran Abrams, Political Correspondent

THE CONSERVATIVE health spokesman
Alan Duncan has dropped a chapter calling
for the legalisation of drugs from a
forthcoming book, it was disclosed last night.

Mr Duncan, a close friend of the Tory leader
William Hague, confirmed that his
comments were being removed from a
paperback version of the book which was
first published three years ago.

He was said to have made the decision to
drop the controversial chapter two weeks ago,
before his appointment to his party's health
team last week. Conservative policy is
against legalisation of cannabis and other
drugs.

In the book, Saturn's Children, Mr Duncan
argued that "prohibition" was not working.
The millionaire businessman and MP for
Rutland and Melton ran into controversy
with that section of the book, which was
mainly devoted to chronicling the advance of
the state in the last century.

"Universal prohibition has, perversely,
increased consumption. We have to address
the tragedy that prohibition is doomed to
failure," he wrote.

But yesterday, after his party leader was
tackled on the subject during a television
interview, Mr Duncan was forced to
backtrack. He would not, however, say
whether his views had changed.

"I am the most anti-drugs person you will
ever find, and always have been. This chapter
won't reappear, and I look forward to
supporting party policy in full," Mr Duncan
said.

In a television interview on Breakfast With
Frost yesterday, Mr Hague said the comments
in the book were out of step with party policy
and would have to be amended for
publication of the paperback version.

"Clearly, if he wanted to publish that book he
would have to bring it into line with the party
policy," Mr Hague said.