BERCOW ATTACKS 'ZERO TOLERANCE' ON DRUGS

A FIERCE dispute divided the Tory home affairs team last night as John
Bercow, a junior spokesman, attacked Ann Widdecombe's policy on drugs. In
an outburst which infuriated senior Tories, Mr Bercow said a "vast
clampdown" on cannabis was unrealistic and that the police had no interest
in launching an all-out war on soft drugs.

The rebuke was the latest for Miss Widdecombe, the Shadow Home Secretary,
since she declared zero tolerance on soft drugs at the Conservative Party
conference last month. Her announcement, which was later watered down,
prompted a backlash within the party.

But the intervention of Mr Bercow, a newly-appointed home affairs
spokesman, was described by sources close to Miss Widdecombe last night as
"particularly unhelpful".

In an interview with New Statesman magazine, Mr Bercow said: "My concern is
far more with attacking hard drugs. The idea that the police should raid
every home in the land looking for dope-smokers is transparently absurd.

"Personal use has effectively been decriminalised. A vast clampdown is
unrealistic. In this country we police by consent. The police are not
interested in launching an all-out war on soft drugs. As far as I can see
alcohol and violence are closely related. It is not at all clear to me that
cannabis and violence are."

Mr Bercow, 37, a strong ally of Michael Portillo, has criticised Miss
Widdecombe in the past. A former member of the far-right Monday Club who
called for repatriation of immigrants in his youth, Mr Bercow said he now
supported Mr Portillo's drive to make the Tories more inclusive.

A party spokesman said last night that Mr Bercow was fully supportive of
the policy on soft drugs set out by William Hague after the conference.