MOWLAM VOWS TO CONTINUE BRITAIN’S WAR AGAINST DRUGS

BRITISH Cabinet Office Minister Mo Mowlam yesterday insisted that she is the
right person to lead the Government’s anti drugs drive despite admitting
that she smoked cannabis while a student.

In a frank television interview, Ms Mowlam disclosed that she tried the drug
at university but did not enjoy the experience.

‘‘I haven’t made any secret of being a child of the 60s, never have. I wasn’
t part of the drugs culture, but I have said in previous interviews this isn
’t a new news story.

‘‘I said I tried marijuana, didn’t like it particularly, and unlike
President Clinton I did inhale. But it wasn’t part of my life then and that’
s what happened.’’

Ms Mowlam said she realised there might be calls for her resignation but
insisted that the disclosure would not make her unfit to continue in her
role spearheading the Government’s fight against drugs alongside drugs czar
Keith Hellawell.

‘‘It happened in America, it (cannabis) was something that many people
experimented with. If I had bought it, sold it, used it frequently, it might
have done - but I didn’t,’’ she said.

‘‘The papers will be full tomorrow with claims that I am unfit to look after
the drugs policy. I will continue to fight hard against the drugs that can
kill people, like heroin and cocaine.

‘‘I will continue to say to young people, as I have done for the last two
months in the job, that taking drugs is not within the law and is not a
credible thing to do in your life.’’

The decision on whether to keep her in her role as minister responsible for
the Government’s anti drugs strategy lay with British Prime Minister Tony
Blair, she said.

Asked if she considered whether her illegal act meant she should give up her
Cabinet seat, Ms Mowlam said: ‘‘No, because if it did Tony Blair would
decide and I wouldn’t stay.’’

Downing Street gave Ms Mowlam its full backing, saying that Mr Blair “firmly
believes that she is the right person for the job’’, while Home Secretary
Jack Straw praised her integrity and honesty.

A Downing Street spokeswoman refused to say whether Mr Blair had known about
Ms Mowlam’s experience when he appointed her to the Cabinet.

Ms Mowlam, who said that in the 1960s she had thought regular users of
cannabis boring, also dismissed suggestions that she planned to dismiss Mr
Hellawell, the anti drugs co-ordinator.

Earlier, Mr Hellawell had called for an end to the witch hunt of politicians
accused of trying soft drugs before they entered public life.

‘‘I think we’ve got to stop this idea of witch hunts and pointing the
finger. The debate needs to be at a much higher level than that,’’ he said.

The Tories, who had demanded that Ms Mowlam should come clean about any
drugs experiences, refused to call for her resignation.

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Andrew Lansley said the important thing was
‘‘not her past experience but that she now continues - with us - to stress
to young people in particular the dangers of experimentation with and use of
drugs’’.

Mr Straw, who is in charge of tackling drugs offences, said: ‘‘Good for Mo
in making this clear. One of her very great strengths is her integrity, and
if people have smoked cannabis in the past, far better to say they have.’’

Liberal Democrat Leader Charles Kennedy said Ms Mowlam’s admission
vindicated his party’s call for a ‘‘more open and mature’’ debate about
drugs.

Drugs campaigner Janet Betts, whose teenage daughter Leah died after taking
an Ecstasy tablet, said it would be ridiculous for Ms Mowlam to be forced to
step down.

‘‘All this shows is that Mo Mowlam was a student and, like thousands of
others in the ’60s and ’70s, she experimented with cannabis and in her case
did not enjoy it.

‘‘It is ridiculous to say that she should be sacked. Indeed, some would say
that it is a good thing she has first-hand experience of drugs if she is
heading the Government’s drugs campaign.’’