10 Monday December 6 2021 | the times
News
Boris Johnson has warned middle-class
drug users they will have “nowhere to
hide” as he considers confiscating pass-
ports and driving licences for those
caught using Class A drugs, under gov-
ernment plans.
People caught with the substances
will be encouraged to go on drug aware-
ness courses, which will be similar to
speed awareness courses, with those
refusing to take the lessons facing a
range of tougher civil orders, including
having their passport or driving licence
removed and greater fines.
The prime minister said these were
examples of the “new ways” of penalis-
ing people who take “lifestyle drugs”
such as cocaine. The plans are part of a
ten-year strategy to close down both
the supply and demand for illegal drugs
in the UK that will be published today.
An extra £300 million will given to
police to tackle the drugs problem over
the next three years. Half of the money
will go towards a new target to disman-
tle 2,000 more county lines by 2024
while the rest will help them with other
interventionist approaches to combat-
ing drugs such as expanding the use of
drug testing on arrest.
The government says that more than
1,500 county lines drug gangs have
been shut down since 2019.
The extra investment for targeting
the supply and demand for drugs will
come alongside a new plan and funding
for treatment and recovery for addicts.
The Home Office has pledged the
“largest single increase” in spending
that will involve almost £800 million
being invested in rehabilitation and re-
covery services. The strategy reflects a
new carrot-and-stick approach that
will offer “a path to recovery” for ad-
dicts and a “chance to repent” for casual
users but a tougher criminal justice ap-
proach for those who refuse both.
It will see an expansion of Project
Adder — addiction, diversion, disrup-
tion, enforcement and recovery — that
has been trialled in ten areas of the UK
with the highest cases of drug misuse
and which has been successful in di-
verting persistent offenders to treat-
ment services. While the prime minis-
ter pledged to keep “nothing off the ta-
ble” as part of the government’s drugs
strategy, he insisted he would not
decriminalise drugs, claiming there was“no evidence” to suggest that was the
best way of reducing consumption.
In remarks released by Downing
Street last night Johnson said: “The
strategy we’re setting out today will
attack supply and break the county
lines model which sees criminals profit
from people’s misery. Those who break
the law will have nowhere to hide.”
It is understood under the plans,
people caught in possession of illicit
substances will be offered drug aware-
ness while addicts will be offered drug
treatment courses. Johnson said the
government would find “new ways of
penalising them” as current deterrents
were “not effective enough in stopping
them feeding the demand for drugs”.Middle-class drug users face loss
of passports and driving licences
Matt Dathan Home Affairs Editor “Things that will actually interfere
with their lives, so we will look at taking
away passports and driving licences,”
the prime minister told The Sun on
Sunday.
Officials are studying punishments
in place in other parts of government to
model the plans, such as non-payment
of child maintenance, which can lead to
a court confiscating a passport or
driving licence.
The strategy is designed to reverse a
sharp rise in drug offences. Police in
England and Wales recorded 175,
drug offences, a rise of 13 per cent. Half
of all homicides and half of acquisitive
crimes, such as theft, burglary and rob-
bery, are linked to drugs, while addicts
occupy one in three prison places.
There are also more than 300,
heroin and crack addicts in England
who between them are responsible for
nearly half of acquisitive crime and
drugs drive nearly half of all homicides.
Priti Patel, the home secretary, said:
“This strategy will help to relentlessly
pursue the kingpins behind these sup-
ply lines, making our streets safer.”
Yvette Cooper, the shadow home
secretary, said: “Any action from the
government must be substantial
enough to undo the damage they have
caused.”
6 Ministers are set to reject recom-
mendations to make wolf-whistling or
pestering women on the street a specif-
ic criminal offence. Dominic Raab, the
justice secretary, told BBC1’s The
Andrew Marr Show: “We have got very
strong laws already in place to make
sure any intimidation or harassment of
women anywhere in our society is dealt
with and addressed.”
Hong Kong
visa scheme
could extend
to the young
Matt Dathan Home Affairs EditorMinisters are considering expanding
the bespoke UK visa scheme for Hong-
kongers by offering it to younger
people, The Times has learnt.
The British National (Overseas)
(BNO) visa scheme offers up to 5.4 mil-
lion Hongkongers a five-year visa and a
path to permanent British citizenship.
It was opened on January 31 after
China’s security laws were introduced.
Those born after Britain handed the
territory over to the Chinese in 1997
and who do not have a parent applying
for the scheme are not eligible.
A group of 27 Tory MPs has signed an
amendment to the Nationality and
Borders Bill, calling for the visa scheme
to be expanded to all 18-25 year olds.
They have pointed to research that
shows 93 per cent of people who have
faced protests-related charges in Hong
Kong fall into the age category.
A government source said the
amendment was “something we will
look at”. But the source said the govern-
ment could not back the amendment as
it stood, as it proposes expanding the
scheme to anyone who has a parent
who qualifies for the BNO scheme.
This would open up the scheme to
too many people, they added.
Ministers face the prospect of being
defeated over the amendment as it only
needs the backing of another 13 Tory
MPs. Labour, the SNP and other oppo-
sition parties are said to back the idea.
The move has been led by Damian
Green, a former deputy prime minister
and backed by other senior Tories such
as Jeremy Hunt, the former health sec-
retary, Tom Tugendhat, chairman of
the foreign affairs committee, and An-
drew Mitchell, the former international
development secretary. Almost 90,
people have applied to the BNO visa
scheme since it opened in January.
Last week research found that the
majority of Hongkongers considering
applying for the bespoke visa are
younger, wealthier and more educated
than those planning to stay behind.
Oxford University’s Migration
Observatory found that half of those
considering relocating to the UK were
born in the 1980s or 1990s.
Compared to those who plan to stay
in Hong Kong, potential UK movers
were more likely to have university
education and more likely to be in full-
time jobs. Nine in ten had at least A-lev-
el or post-secondary education.
The UK was the most preferred
option among Hongkongers who
expressed an interest in leaving the
country, with a third placing it as their
top destination. Taiwan was the second
most popular, followed Australia and
Canada.
London was the most common
choice of destination city, favoured by
42 per cent of potential movers, ahead
of Manchester, on 12 per cent.
The amendment tabled by Conserv-
ative MPs is one of about 80 that have
been put forward by backbenchers and
opposition parties to the Nationality
and Borders Bill, which will be voted on
by MPs tomorrow.
The bill proposes the biggest shake-
up of asylum laws in a generation by
creating a two-tier system that will dis-
tinguish between illegal and legal asy-
lum seekers for the first time.
The bill will give sweeping powers to
Border Force to intercept small boats,
criminalise migrants intercepted in the
Channel, and bar them from claiming
permanent residency in the UK.God bless us every one Visitors to the Dickensian Christmas Festival in Rochester found the streets bustling with ladies and gentlemen straight out of a storybook
GUY CORBISHLEY/ALAMY LIVE NEWSNo 10’s plan to dismantle county lines and deter drug users
6 Promise to dismantle
more than 2,
county lines by 2024.
Carry out 6,
“disruptions” against
the activities of
organised criminals, a
rise of 20 per cent in
the next three years.
Invest up to £145 million
in the county lines
programme.6 Expand drug testing
on arrest, supporting
police forces to test
more individuals and
direct them towards
treatment or other
relevant interventions.6 Develop out-of-court
disposal projects to
ensure that drug users
face tougher
consequences. Options
include community
resolutions and drug
awareness courses with
possible criminal
sanctions for those who
continue to use drugs.
Those who refuse to
take part will face
having their passports
or driving licences
confiscated.6 Trial a behaviour
change campaign at
universities to see whatworks in discouraging
drug misuse.6 Give judges the
power to order drug
testing of anyone
serving a community
sentence whose
offending is related to
drug use by legislating
through the Police,
Crime, Sentencing and
Courts Bill. If they test
positive they could face
a custodial sentence.6 Contact clients on
drug dealers’ seized
phones to discourage
their drug use.