ALL CRIMINAL SUSPECTS TO FACE DRUG TEST

Mandatory drug tests for all those arrested for criminal offences were
foreshadowed by Tony Blair yesterday as part of a Government initiative to
reduce levels of drug-related crime.

Admitting he was "petrified about drugs", he said ministers were
considering the refusal of bail to those on hard drugs such as cocaine or
heroin who were likely to go "straight back out on the streets and commit
criminal offences".

His decision to break with convention and make public the centrepiece of
the forthcoming Queen's Speech was intended to divert attention from
reports of Cabinet feuds and clashes with the unions on the opening day of
Labour's centenary conference in Bournemouth. It was also an attempt to
demonstrate that he was tackling issues of public concern amid signs of
growing disillusionment over the Government's failure to deliver on its
election promises.

A Gallup poll for The Telegraph published today shows only a minority of
voters think Tony Blair is proving "outstanding" as Prime Minister. On
issues such as the health service, education, public transport and crime
prevention, the Government's ratings remain relatively low.

Mr Blair used an interview on BBC Television's Breakfast With Frost to
announce that a Crime and Justice Bill would be the main focus of the new
legislative programme. He described the link between crime and drug-taking
as one of the biggest problems the country was facing.

Mr Blair said: "People are petrified about drugs. I'm petrified about drugs
in respect of my own and other people's children." Jack Straw, the Home
Secretary, said the link between drug users and crime was "huge and very
disturbing". It was estimated there were up to 200,000 problem drug users
in England and Wales, of whom 50,000 to 60,000 were arrested each year.

Mr Straw told Radio 4's World This Weekend: "Each of those will have been
committing scores, if not hundreds, of crimes each year in order to feed
their habit." Home Office sources said later that if an arrested person was
found to be using hard drugs, the police would argue against bail, or
insist on strict conditions such as attendance at a rehabilitation programme.

The Government was also considering random drug tests for those on
probation or given community sentences - "so they don't see the probation
officer one day and go thieving the next".

John Wadham, director of the civil rights group Liberty, criticised the
move to mandatory drug testing, claiming it risked breaching the European
Convention on Human Rights. He said: "The Government should drop the
superficial macho rhetoric and establish a Royal Commission to undertake a
radical review of drugs policy in this country."

Home Office officials rejected complaints from the civil liberties lobby,
arguing that the initiative was aimed at reducing crimes such as
burglaries, thefts from cars and muggings that were used to finance drug
habits. Mandatory tests would enable the authorities to identify and treat
drug users sooner.

Mr Blair had earlier denied that he was seeking to win three general
elections. He said: "I have never said I want to serve three terms. I have
never said I want to be like Mrs Thatcher and go on and on and on."

In a question-and-answer session with delegates yesterday, he claimed the
Government was in a stronger position mid-term than previous governments
because it had managed the economy well.