DUNCAN SMITH FAILS TO SCORE ON ANTI-DRUGS MESSAGE

WITH the specific aim of scoring some class A political points, Iain Duncan
Smith, the leader of the Conservative crew, went to Brixton in South London
yesterday.

Mr Duncan Smith, whose Smith Square posse is currently midway through its
"Help the Vulnerable" tour of Britain (yesterday Brixton, tomorrow bucolic
Dorset), arrived at the Baptist Church on Solon Road to hear for himself
the opinions of the local community.

"I have come to listen. This is not a party political issue," he said
repeatedly, though it may be coincidental David Blunkett, the Home
Secretary, is expected to announced today that cannabis should be
downgraded from a class B to class C drug.

Waiting for the Tory leader were ten of Brixton's finest citizens. They
included the priest, the Rev Chris Andre-Watson, Hughie Rose, a youth
worker, the Rev Jeanette Mclaren, Pauline Cummings, a foster mother from
Birmingham, and seven elderly members of the ladies' prayer fellowship, a
charming organisation which meets every Tuesday afternoon for prayers,
songs and Bible readings.

But the good people of Brixton were at best bemused by the presence of the
excruciatingly posh Tory leader.

As Yvonne Cadette, 65, admitted, it was not entirely clear why this strange
man in a suit and his sidekick, Oliver Letwin, had agreed to join their
weekly meeting.

"We sing, we pray, we are here every Tuesday," said Mrs Cadette, originally
from Jamaica who has lived in Brixton for more than 30 years.

"As a matter of fact, we have this ladies' meeting every Tuesday from
2:30pm till quarter to four and I wasn't even aware this press meeting was
going to take place," she said with disarming candour.

Mr Rose, the youth activist, was equally honest in his conversation with
the Tory leader, saying he thought it would be better to reserve judgment
until the Paddick experiment had finished.

"Why have you turned up now? Why have you come to gloat?" he asked Mr
Duncan Smith.

Mr Duncan Smith looked affronted by the accusation he had turned up simply
for a tremendous photo opportunity.

"Oliver has been here and it is my intention to come back again," he said.

Had Mr Letwin, who admitted smoking cannabis when a student, come to buy
some skunk, a particularly potent form of cannabis, for his pipe?

Three months ago the local police commander, Brian Paddick, began a
"softly, softly" experiment whereby local officers would turn a blind eye
to those dealing or using soft drugs in order to concentrate on the growing
problem of crack cocaine use. But it has also caused consternation among
certain members of the local community.

The pilot, according to a recent Mori poll, has the support of 83 per cent
of Lambeth's citizens and has seen a 19 per cent increase in the arrest of
crack dealers.

Ms Mclaren also suggested that the experiment should be continued "to see
how successful it has been".

Clearly, this was not what Mr Duncan Smith was craving to hear.

Repeatedly, he pressed his audience on how the change in policy had
affected the community.

Thankfully, a local Tory councillor, Bernard Gentry, dressed in an
ill-fitting jacket a threadbare party tie, came to his rescue.

He picked up on quotes by Labour MP Kate Hoey, who claimed drug dealing has
become so rife it is nigh impossible to walk down the local high streets
without being offered the opportunity to buy cannabis.

"I have been offered not just cannabis but hard drugs just 50 yards from
Brixton town hall," he said.

Ms Mclaren admitted she had been offered skunk only the previous day while
returning from a hospital visit.

Both Ms Mclaren and Mr Gentry insisted they had politely turned down the
offers.

After the meeting, the Tory leader called on Mr Blunkett, to abandon the
Lambeth pilot.

"It is quite wrong surely to hand over drug policy to criminals on the
street. We are saying to the Home Secretary stop and think again because
this is not the right way to go about it," he said.