Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg encouraged the BBC to give airtime to organisations that promote the legalisation of drugs including heroin . Nick Clegg encouraged the BBC to give airtime to organisations that promote the legalisation of drugs including heroin, it was revealed yesterday. Before the publication of a highly controversial report on drugs, the Deputy Prime Minister’s office tried to persuade the Corporation to introduce the campaigners as ‘third voices’ in the debate. They included some activists who believe our current drugs laws are a breach of human rights. The disclosure of an aide’s attempt to spin the BBC’s presentation of the report, which compared the drugs policies of different countries, came as a major row erupted up within the Coalition over the issue. In the wake of the publication of the Home Office report, Liberal Democrats called for radical change to Britain’s drug laws. They hailed the report as ‘overwhelming’ proof that there was no benefit to having tough penalties on drugs, with Mr Clegg accusing the Tories of having a ‘totally misplaced, outdated, backward-looking view’. He even suggested the report should be ‘a wake-up call’ for David Cameron and Ed Miliband. But others pointed out that the report explicitly stated it would be ‘inappropriate’ to claim its findings supported a case for legalisation – and acknowledged that drug use in the UK, where there are tough penalties for dealing and possession, had decreased markedly in recent years. Meanwhile, countries where laws have been liberalised have seen a substantial rise in drug use. Downing Street said the report provided ‘no support whatsoever’ for decriminalisation. And Mr Cameron attacked Mr Clegg’s remarks, saying drugs posed a danger to young people and that as a father he would never suggest they were safe. ‘The evidence is, what we are doing is working,’ he said. ‘I don’t believe in decriminalising drugs that are illegal today. 'I’m a parent with three children, I don’t want to send a message that taking drugs is okay or safe, it simply isn’t – it’s a danger. ‘The biggest problem we have is these so-called legal highs, drugs that are sold openly and are the real danger for young people. David Cameron held a PM Direct at an O2 Call Centre in Runcorn, Cheshire, today - in which he rejected calls for drugs to be decriminalised . ‘I want us to have tougher powers so that we ban legal highs, take them off the high street and protect more of our young people.’ Mr Clegg’s attempt to manipulate the BBC came in the hours before the official publication of the Home Office report. An aide working for the Deputy Prime Minister sent journalists on the flagship Radio 4 Today programme and other current affairs shows an email picking out the Lib Dems’ favoured passages, many of which amounted to arguments for decriminalisation. Astonishingly, the email from special adviser Phil Reilly recommended that producers and reporters at the BBC and other broadcasters contact Niamh Eastwood of Release and Danny Kushlick of Transform. Release, a charity founded in the 1960s to give legal and other help to drug users, is calling for the decriminalisation of drug possession offences in the UK. Transform, a charity, campaigns for the legalisation of drugs. It states on its website that ‘prohibition doesn’t work and never will’. Today producers rejected the aide’s advice, instead interviewing Lib Dem home office minister Norman Baker, who wants drug laws relaxed, and Tory MP Michael Ellis, who is opposed to legalising drugs. A spokesman for Mr Clegg said: ‘The Deputy Prime Minister has been very clear that he does not support the legalisation of drugs and does not endorse the campaigning positions of any particular organisation. ‘These are two respected organisations in this field and it is entirely understandable that the media would want to speak with them.’ The Home Office report followed a series of visits by Mr Baker to countries with varying policies on drugs. It suggested that tough penal regimes are no more successful than liberal decriminalised systems at reducing levels of drug abuse. A key country on Mr Baker’s tour was Portugal, which decriminalised drugs in 2001. The report claimed, controversially, that the policy has been a success. Mr Baker said: ‘Britain’s drug laws need a radical change. Ending prison sentences for drug users would give us more time to crack down on the criminal gangs that supply illegal drugs.’ Mr Clegg accused the Tories of taking a ‘facile’ approach to the issue. Lib Dem sources accused Mr Cameron of hypocrisy, pointing out that as a backbench MP he took a relatively liberal approach. In 2002 he said it was ‘baffling’ that the then Labour government was not looking at decriminalisation. Yesterday, Mr Cameron called the Home Office report ‘interesting’ but added: ‘I don’t think anyone can read that report and say it definitely justifies this approach or that approach.’ Commons Health Committee chairman Sarah Wollaston warned against ‘giving succour’ to drug addicts. Dr Wollaston, a former GP, said: ‘I don’t have any moralistic view on taking drugs other than the fact that I object to people supporting one of the most evil businesses and cartels worldwide. 'It always surprises me that people who would perhaps object to buying coffee in Starbucks and would refuse to support Amazon are quite happy to support these cartels that cause untold misery to hundreds of thousands around the world.’ What the Lib Dems didn't mention . On his tour of television and radio studios in the wake of the Home Office report, Nick Clegg declared it was clear evidence of an urgent need to relax drugs laws. But the 55-page document throws up countless findings that contradict him – and which he conveniently declined to mention. Even Lib Dem home affairs minister Norman Baker, writing in the foreword, said there were ‘positive signs that [the Government’s] approach is working’. Nick Clegg's stance on the drug debate was undermined by the 55-page report after he declared there was clear evidence of an urgent need to relax drug laws . He cited the ‘long-term downward trend’ of drug use, the fall in heroin and cocaine users in England to below 300,000 for the first time and that those in treatment are ‘more likely than ever to leave free from addiction’. Clegg’s stance is again undermined, when the report states: ‘There is robust evidence that drug use among adults has been on a downward trend since the mid-2000s.’ Drug use in adults in the past year peaked at 12.3 per cent in 2003-04 and had fallen to 8.8 per cent in the latest surveys. The figures for users aged 11 to 15 also fell, from 20 to 11 per cent. The Deputy Prime Minister ignored a section rubbishing claims that decriminalisation reduced the burden on police, which stated: ‘The number of people coming into formal contact with the police for possession offences has remained broadly stable.’ The report supported tougher punishments, saying: ‘We heard arguments both for decriminalisation and “zero tolerance” policies … and all were able to demonstrate some success.’ The Lib Dems cited Portugal, where possession of small amounts of drugs ceased to be a criminal offence in 2001, as an example to follow. They said the number of drug users had not increased since the laws were relaxed and said health problems, including Aids and HIV, had fallen. The report has put the Coalition on a collision path and its concluding observation emphatically does not back decriminalisation of drugs . But the report said the health improvements may be linked to a significant funding boost for healthcare rather than slackening drugs laws, adding: ‘With regard to Portugal … it is difficult to disentangle the effect of decriminalisation from wider improvements in treatment and harm reduction during the same period.’ Mr Clegg failed to mention the Czech Republic, which had similar drug possession laws to Portugal yet had ‘levels of cannabis use among the highest in Europe’. The report’s concluding observation emphatically does not back decriminalisation of drugs. The problem was ‘more complex and nuanced than legislation and enforcement alone,’ it stated, adding that it would be ‘inappropriate to compare the success of drug policies in different countries’. Mr Clegg seized on a section which stated there was no clear relationship between stiff penalties and the number of addicts.
Deputy Prime Minister's office tried to persuade BBC to use campaigners .
Came as publication of a highly controversial report on drugs was issued .
It included activists who believe current drug laws breach human rights .
He suggested report should be ‘wake-up call’ for  Cameron and Miliband .
Phil Reilly recommended contacting charities Release and Transform .
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg encouraged the BBC to give airtime to organisations that promote the legalisation of drugs including heroin . Nick Clegg encouraged the BBC to give airtime to organisations that promote the legalisation of drugs including heroin, it was revealed yesterday. Before the publication of a highly controversial report on drugs, the Deputy Prime Minister’s office tried to persuade the Corporation to introduce the campaigners as ‘third voices’ in the debate. They included some activists who believe our current drugs laws are a breach of human rights. The disclosure of an aide’s attempt to spin the BBC’s presentation of the report, which compared the drugs policies of different countries, came as a major row erupted up within the Coalition over the issue. In the wake of the publication of the Home Office report, Liberal Democrats called for radical change to Britain’s drug laws. They hailed the report as ‘overwhelming’ proof that there was no benefit to having tough penalties on drugs, with Mr Clegg accusing the Tories of having a ‘totally misplaced, outdated, backward-looking view’. He even suggested the report should be ‘a wake-up call’ for David Cameron and Ed Miliband. But others pointed out that the report explicitly stated it would be ‘inappropriate’ to claim its findings supported a case for legalisation – and acknowledged that drug use in the UK, where there are tough penalties for dealing and possession, had decreased markedly in recent years. Meanwhile, countries where laws have been liberalised have seen a substantial rise in drug use. Downing Street said the report provided ‘no support whatsoever’ for decriminalisation. And Mr Cameron attacked Mr Clegg’s remarks, saying drugs posed a danger to young people and that as a father he would never suggest they were safe. ‘The evidence is, what we are doing is working,’ he said. ‘I don’t believe in decriminalising drugs that are illegal today. 'I’m a parent with three children, I don’t want to send a message that taking drugs is okay or safe, it simply isn’t – it’s a danger. ‘The biggest problem we have is these so-called legal highs, drugs that are sold openly and are the real danger for young people. David Cameron held a PM Direct at an O2 Call Centre in Runcorn, Cheshire, today - in which he rejected calls for drugs to be decriminalised . ‘I want us to have tougher powers so that we ban legal highs, take them off the high street and protect more of our young people.’ Mr Clegg’s attempt to manipulate the BBC came in the hours before the official publication of the Home Office report. An aide working for the Deputy Prime Minister sent journalists on the flagship Radio 4 Today programme and other current affairs shows an email picking out the Lib Dems’ favoured passages, many of which amounted to arguments for decriminalisation. Astonishingly, the email from special adviser Phil Reilly recommended that producers and reporters at the BBC and other broadcasters contact Niamh Eastwood of Release and Danny Kushlick of Transform. Release, a charity founded in the 1960s to give legal and other help to drug users, is calling for the decriminalisation of drug possession offences in the UK. Transform, a charity, campaigns for the legalisation of drugs. It states on its website that ‘prohibition doesn’t work and never will’. Today producers rejected the aide’s advice, instead interviewing Lib Dem home office minister Norman Baker, who wants drug laws relaxed, and Tory MP Michael Ellis, who is opposed to legalising drugs. A spokesman for Mr Clegg said: ‘The Deputy Prime Minister has been very clear that he does not support the legalisation of drugs and does not endorse the campaigning positions of any particular organisation. ‘These are two respected organisations in this field and it is entirely understandable that the media would want to speak with them.’ The Home Office report followed a series of visits by Mr Baker to countries with varying policies on drugs. It suggested that tough penal regimes are no more successful than liberal decriminalised systems at reducing levels of drug abuse. A key country on Mr Baker’s tour was Portugal, which decriminalised drugs in 2001. The report claimed, controversially, that the policy has been a success. Mr Baker said: ‘Britain’s drug laws need a radical change. Ending prison sentences for drug users would give us more time to crack down on the criminal gangs that supply illegal drugs.’ Mr Clegg accused the Tories of taking a ‘facile’ approach to the issue. Lib Dem sources accused Mr Cameron of hypocrisy, pointing out that as a backbench MP he took a relatively liberal approach. In 2002 he said it was ‘baffling’ that the then Labour government was not looking at decriminalisation. Yesterday, Mr Cameron called the Home Office report ‘interesting’ but added: ‘I don’t think anyone can read that report and say it definitely justifies this approach or that approach.’ Commons Health Committee chairman Sarah Wollaston warned against ‘giving succour’ to drug addicts. Dr Wollaston, a former GP, said: ‘I don’t have any moralistic view on taking drugs other than the fact that I object to people supporting one of the most evil businesses and cartels worldwide. 'It always surprises me that people who would perhaps object to buying coffee in Starbucks and would refuse to support Amazon are quite happy to support these cartels that cause untold misery to hundreds of thousands around the world.’ What the Lib Dems didn't mention . On his tour of television and radio studios in the wake of the Home Office report, Nick Clegg declared it was clear evidence of an urgent need to relax drugs laws. But the 55-page document throws up countless findings that contradict him – and which he conveniently declined to mention. Even Lib Dem home affairs minister Norman Baker, writing in the foreword, said there were ‘positive signs that [the Government’s] approach is working’. Nick Clegg's stance on the drug debate was undermined by the 55-page report after he declared there was clear evidence of an urgent need to relax drug laws . He cited the ‘long-term downward trend’ of drug use, the fall in heroin and cocaine users in England to below 300,000 for the first time and that those in treatment are ‘more likely than ever to leave free from addiction’. Clegg’s stance is again undermined, when the report states: ‘There is robust evidence that drug use among adults has been on a downward trend since the mid-2000s.’ Drug use in adults in the past year peaked at 12.3 per cent in 2003-04 and had fallen to 8.8 per cent in the latest surveys. The figures for users aged 11 to 15 also fell, from 20 to 11 per cent. The Deputy Prime Minister ignored a section rubbishing claims that decriminalisation reduced the burden on police, which stated: ‘The number of people coming into formal contact with the police for possession offences has remained broadly stable.’ The report supported tougher punishments, saying: ‘We heard arguments both for decriminalisation and “zero tolerance” policies … and all were able to demonstrate some success.’ The Lib Dems cited Portugal, where possession of small amounts of drugs ceased to be a criminal offence in 2001, as an example to follow. They said the number of drug users had not increased since the laws were relaxed and said health problems, including Aids and HIV, had fallen. The report has put the Coalition on a collision path and its concluding observation emphatically does not back decriminalisation of drugs . But the report said the health improvements may be linked to a significant funding boost for healthcare rather than slackening drugs laws, adding: ‘With regard to Portugal … it is difficult to disentangle the effect of decriminalisation from wider improvements in treatment and harm reduction during the same period.’ Mr Clegg failed to mention the Czech Republic, which had similar drug possession laws to Portugal yet had ‘levels of cannabis use among the highest in Europe’. The report’s concluding observation emphatically does not back decriminalisation of drugs. The problem was ‘more complex and nuanced than legislation and enforcement alone,’ it stated, adding that it would be ‘inappropriate to compare the success of drug policies in different countries’. Mr Clegg seized on a section which stated there was no clear relationship between stiff penalties and the number of addicts.
yesterday. Before the publication of a highly controversial report on drugs, the Deputy Prime Minister’s office tried to persuade the activists who believe our current drugs laws are a breach of human rights. The disclosure of an even suggested the report should be ‘a wake-up call’ for David Cameron and Ed Miliband. But Phil Reilly recommended that producers and