Johnson’s got his Nutts in a twist

Here’s a neat bit of New Labour doublespeak for you. Or lies, if you prefer.

Professor David Nutt, the home secretary’s recently sacked chief drugs adviser, was lead to the gallows because he had ‘crossed a line’ into politics.

Translation: Professor Nutt was fired for not towing the Labour party line, despite the Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs that he represented being an independent body

It really is a marvellous bit of hypocrisy. It’s like a schoolboy cuffing his playmate round the ear and then crying ‘he started it!’ There’s only one person meddling in politics here and that is Alan Johnson. He didn’t like what Professor Nutt was saying, so he got rid of him. Some independent body, eh?

And now three more members of the ACMD have resigned following a ‘clear the air’ meeting with the home secretary.

What does the government want? Real, honest advice on drugs? Or do they just want to hear what they want to hear? The answer is fairly obvious.

Ok, let’s play devil’s advocate for a moment. The government upgraded cannabis to a Class B drug, putting it somewhere between painkillers and heroin. Now, I have no real problem with this. Some idiots still need teaching that illegal drugs are illegal for a reason - they can seriously harm you. I’m in favour of doing whatever it takes to ram home the message. Upgrade it to class A+ and put a hat on it for all I care, as long as you’re tackling the problem.

Professor Nutt stated that the decision to do so was ‘political’. It was his job to give advice, not opinions. He was to present the facts, not comment on individual government policies. Perhaps he was meddling in politics. Maybe he did have to go.

Naturally, the council bristled. They felt that their independence was being impinged upon. But, don’t worry, here comes the home secretary in to sort it all out. To ‘clear the air’. And the result? Three more members resign and the 25 remaining have ‘outstanding concerns’.

Goodness knows what kind of damage Alan Johnson could do as foreign secretary or, perish the thought, Prime Minister.

Oh, and what was Johnson’s reaction to the conciliatory meeting that resulted in three resignations? ‘The discussions were very constructive.’

For who, Alan, for who?

@2 years ago