Parliament and the police must stop being soft on drugs and start arresting the dealers destroying our streets

Licence to deal

NO vote in Parliament has ever backed the widespread decriminalisation of drugs.

No poll has shown that majority of the public support it. And no government has yet caved in to the demands of the legalisation lobby.

The police must be tougher on the people who peddle drugs in our streets

But on our streets today, much drug-dealing has effectively been legalised as the police turn a blind eye to low-level buying and selling of drugs.

We focus today on the green light given by the police to dealing in Aldgate in London. But the same is true across the country where police refuse to arrest dealers.

The rot set in back in 2001, when Brian Paddick — now a Lib Dem peer — became borough commander of the London district of Lambeth and ordered his officers not to arrest anyone found with cannabis.

In theory, this was meant to allow them to focus on more “serious” crimes. In practice, it has allowed drug-dealers to stick two fingers up to the law of the land with the police’s connivance.

Visit almost any urban area today and you can find the dealers simply by the smell of cannabis in the street. Ask a few questions and you can find out where to get hold of most drugs.

The police need to start doing their job again: enforcing the law.

As borough commander of Lambeth Brian Paddick ordered his officers not to arrest anyone found with cannabis

One direction

THERESA May set out Britain’s Brexit plan in her Lancaster House speech in January.

It was clear, comprehensive and convincing.

Despite the Remainers’ attempts to portray everything about Brexit as chaotic, the Government has stuck to the plan ever since and it has formed the basis of our negotiations with Brussels.

It is in Brussels’ interest to give us a good Brexit deal

And you can be pretty sure that, come our departure from the EU in 2019, it will form the basis of any agreement.

Today’s position paper on customs after Brexit provides some detail to flesh out that plan.

Theresa May’s Brexit speech was clear and convincing – let’s stick to it

Even this is really just confirmation of what we already know — that there should be a limited transition period while new arrangements are set up.

It’s not that difficult. And it’s as much in Brussels’ interest as it is our own — which is why an agreement is far more likely than not.

There is a lot of hot air around the mechanics of Brexit. Ignore it all.

All bong wrong

HOW depressingly typical that Big Ben will now be silent for four years.

Of course the hearing of the workers repairing the bell needs to be protected.

Don’t let the bells of Big Ben stop ringing

But instead of coming up with an imaginative solution to the silencing of Big Ben, the Palace of Westminster authorities have simply opted for the lowest common denominator and stopped the chimes altogether.

Save the bongs!