POLICE TO GET NEW DRUG POWERS

NEW powers for police to monitor and search nightclubs are planned by
Tony Blair in a sharp crackdown on drugs. He is also to reappoint
Keith Hellawell as his "drug tsar".

Legislation to be unveiled in the Queen's speech this autumn will
tighten the rules on confiscation of assets that may have been bought
with drug money.

Anybody convicted of drug trafficking also faces automatic
confiscation of their passport to prevent flight before they are
sentenced and to curb the movement of international traffickers.
Treatment will be made compulsory for addicts convicted of a criminal
offence.

The prime minister, who is the father of teenage children, has been
shocked by statistics revealing the high percentage of youngsters who
are exposed to drugs. A senior government source said: "He was stunned
by the fact that 40% of 15 to 16-year-olds in Scotland admitted using
illegal drugs."

Blair outlined his thinking in St Petersburg last week. He said: "We
have got to crack down very, very hard. In co-operation with other
countries we are doing a great deal, but it is important that people
grasp the scale of the problem."

Blair indicated yesterday that he is to reappoint Hellawell when the
former police chief's three-year contract expires later this year.

Hellawell has been criticised by some members of the government for
"junkets" abroad - a claim he has strenuously denied. Blair is said to
have been impressed with him at a recent private meeting in Downing
Street and is determined to give him full backing and
encouragement.