-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/et?ac=003602252754541&rtmo=3mnYmBwM&atmo=rrrrrrv s&pg=/et/00/10/10/nhag10.html Click Here: <A HREF="http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/et?ac=003602252754541&rtmo=3mnYmBwM&atmo=r rrrrrvs&pg=/et/00/10/10/nhag10.html">Hague signals retreat on drugs</A> ----- ISSUE 1964 Tuesday 10 October 2000 Hague signals retreat on drugs By George Jones, Political Editor WILLIAM HAGUE yesterday signalled a full-scale retreat on Ann Widdecombe's hardline "zero tolerance" policy on possession of cannabis. He sought to end the disarray over the party's anti-drugs stance by announcing that there would be further consultations on the plan for mandatory fixed penalty fines for those caught with small quantities of soft drugs. Conservative MPs believe the policy has been shelved and will not form part of the election manifesto after it was condemned as unworkable by the police and civil rights groups. Keith Hellawell, coordinator of the Government's anti-drug policies, yesterday joined the growing band of critics of Miss Widdecombe's proposals, saying they were unrealistic and impracticable. After five days of internal party feuding over the plan, Mr Hague called a press conference at Conservative Party headquarters to announce that the party's entire drug policy was going back to the drawing board. The Tory leader, who had applauded Miss Widdecombe's party conference speech announcing the £100 fines for anyone caught with the smallest amount of cannabis, acknowledged that there were "concerns" about the plan. He refused to repeat the "zero tolerance" phrase she had used to describe the new policy. Mr Hague said he still had "150 per cent confidence" in Miss Widdecombe, and that she would be a "great crime-fighting Home Secretary". But the retreat was a further humiliation for Miss Widdecombe, whose political prospects have been badly damaged by the row, which overshadowed last week's conference. Although the Tories have been embarrassed by the furore, Mr Hague sought to draw some comfort from the fact that it had started a national debate on future drugs policy. Senior Conservatives also hope the admission by seven members of the shadow Cabinet that they had experimented with drugs in their youth would demonstrate that the party leadership is made up of "normal" people, in touch with current issues. Michael Fabricant, Tory MP for Lichfield, last night became the latest member of his party to admit to smoking cannabis as a student. Asked on Sky News whether he had tried it, he replied: "Me? I went to university in the Seventies and yes, I tried it." Mr Hague reaffirmed his party's opposition to decriminalising cannabis. He said drugs caused "great misery and problems" and the Tories were convinced that they had to "step up the war" against drug pushers rather than surrender to them. He denied that the leadership was abandoning Miss Widdecombe's policy of ending police cautions and imposing a mandatory fine of at least £100 on those caught possessing even small amounts of soft drugs for their own use. But he appeared to acknowledge the criticism from many colleagues that the policy threatened to criminalise thousands of young people who might be experimenting with drugs. 9 October 2000: Drug cautions will stay, says Widdecombe 8 October 2000: Top Tories admit to smoking cannabis 7 October 2000: Widdecombe plan would jail 2,000 6 October 2000: Ancram leads the U-turn on cannabis 5 October 2000: Fixed fines for cannabis dismissed by police 4 October 2000: Tory crackdown on cannabis © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2000. ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. 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