Parliament: Minister hits out at drugs `scourge'

QUESTIONS

IAN McCARTNEY, the Cabinet Office minister, whose son died of a heroin overdose yesterday spoke out about the trauma suffered by parents in such a tragedy.

It was his first question time appearance since Mr McCartney's son Hugh, 23, was found dead last month by his mother in his Glasgow flat. Mr McCartney warned there was "a long way to go" before Britain was able to outlaw the scourge of drugs misuse.

He dismissed Tory claims that Keith Hellawell, the drugs Czar, had been "complacent" in his response to a survey which showed that half of all young people had used drugs and that some "aspects of drug use" were on the increase.

He said that the Tories' failure to act when in government meant every pub or club in Britain was at risk from traffickers.

"For everything that we do to save every single life, then one life saved is one life that one family will not have to go through the trauma and the young person will be able to live their dreams instead of dying before they reached maturity."

"We have come a long way and need to go further in respect of 10 years' lack of action by the Tories."