Pubdate: Wed, 10 Jul 2002
Source: Scotsman (UK)
Copyright: The Scotsman Publications Ltd 2002
Contact:  http://www.scotsman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/406
Author: Jason Beattie

DUNCAN SMITH FAILS TO SCORE ON ANTI-DRUGS MESSAGE

WITH the specific aim of scoring some class A political points, Iain Duncan 
Smith, the leader of the Conservative crew, went to Brixton in South London 
yesterday.

Mr Duncan Smith, whose Smith Square posse is currently midway through its 
"Help the Vulnerable" tour of Britain (yesterday Brixton, tomorrow bucolic 
Dorset), arrived at the Baptist Church on Solon Road to hear for himself 
the opinions of the local community.

"I have come to listen. This is not a party political issue," he said 
repeatedly, though it may be coincidental David Blunkett, the Home 
Secretary, is expected to announced today that cannabis should be 
downgraded from a class B to class C drug.

Waiting for the Tory leader were ten of Brixton's finest citizens. They 
included the priest, the Rev Chris Andre-Watson, Hughie Rose, a youth 
worker, the Rev Jeanette Mclaren, Pauline Cummings, a foster mother from 
Birmingham, and seven elderly members of the ladies' prayer fellowship, a 
charming organisation which meets every Tuesday afternoon for prayers, 
songs and Bible readings.

But the good people of Brixton were at best bemused by the presence of the 
excruciatingly posh Tory leader.

As Yvonne Cadette, 65, admitted, it was not entirely clear why this strange 
man in a suit and his sidekick, Oliver Letwin, had agreed to join their 
weekly meeting.

"We sing, we pray, we are here every Tuesday," said Mrs Cadette, originally 
from Jamaica who has lived in Brixton for more than 30 years.

"As a matter of fact, we have this ladies' meeting every Tuesday from 
2:30pm till quarter to four and I wasn't even aware this press meeting was 
going to take place," she said with disarming candour.

Mr Rose, the youth activist, was equally honest in his conversation with 
the Tory leader, saying he thought it would be better to reserve judgment 
until the Paddick experiment had finished.

"Why have you turned up now? Why have you come to gloat?" he asked Mr 
Duncan Smith.

Mr Duncan Smith looked affronted by the accusation he had turned up simply 
for a tremendous photo opportunity.

"Oliver has been here and it is my intention to come back again," he said.

Had Mr Letwin, who admitted smoking cannabis when a student, come to buy 
some skunk, a particularly potent form of cannabis, for his pipe?

Three months ago the local police commander, Brian Paddick, began a 
"softly, softly" experiment whereby local officers would turn a blind eye 
to those dealing or using soft drugs in order to concentrate on the growing 
problem of crack cocaine use. But it has also caused consternation among 
certain members of the local community.

The pilot, according to a recent Mori poll, has the support of 83 per cent 
of Lambeth's citizens and has seen a 19 per cent increase in the arrest of 
crack dealers.

Ms Mclaren also suggested that the experiment should be continued "to see 
how successful it has been".

Clearly, this was not what Mr Duncan Smith was craving to hear.

Repeatedly, he pressed his audience on how the change in policy had 
affected the community.

Thankfully, a local Tory councillor, Bernard Gentry, dressed in an 
ill-fitting jacket a threadbare party tie, came to his rescue.

He picked up on quotes by Labour MP Kate Hoey, who claimed drug dealing has 
become so rife it is nigh impossible to walk down the local high streets 
without being offered the opportunity to buy cannabis.

"I have been offered not just cannabis but hard drugs just 50 yards from 
Brixton town hall," he said.

Ms Mclaren admitted she had been offered skunk only the previous day while 
returning from a hospital visit.

Both Ms Mclaren and Mr Gentry insisted they had politely turned down the 
offers.

After the meeting, the Tory leader called on Mr Blunkett, to abandon the 
Lambeth pilot.

"It is quite wrong surely to hand over drug policy to criminals on the 
street. We are saying to the Home Secretary stop and think again because 
this is not the right way to go about it," he said.
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