Results 1-20 of 4,005 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Alan Johnson

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (2 Nov 2009) has video

Alan Johnson: There is no question but that, since its establishment in 1971, the independent and expert advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has been invaluable to the successive Governments whom it has served. Later today the House will consider imposing greater controls on the party drug GBL, BZP and synthetic cannabinoids, all in accordance with advice from the council. Of the 21...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (2 Nov 2009) has video

Alan Johnson: I think I thank the hon. Gentleman for his support. I am not sure whether to or not, actually. He asked a number of questions. First, in February, my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Redditch (Jacqui Smith), wrote to Professor Nutt and made clear her dissatisfaction. Indeed, she expressed it to this House in response to my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, East...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (2 Nov 2009) has video

Alan Johnson: Yes, it is true, and the hon. Gentleman should wait his turn before interfering. The situation to which I just referred was a re-run of February, and I lost confidence. I did not have a meeting with Professor Nutt. I have had meetings with him, but, on that occasion, what needed to be done—my conveying my loss of confidence in him—needed to be done very quickly. There is no...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (2 Nov 2009) has video

Alan Johnson: Piety and pomposity in equal measure. The Government, and I in particular, have listened to scientific advice. We took through the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, and there was an awful lot of science in that. We respect the views of scientists, and we have respected the views of scientists in every aspect of Government policy. Our principal advisers—whether Sir David King,...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (2 Nov 2009) has video

Alan Johnson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When such esteemed professionals take on such a job, they have the Government's ear. They have a very important role in influencing the Government, and they must exercise it with care and caution. It would be quite wrong for advisers to undermine the Government as well as advise them. There is absolutely no question about Professor Nutt's right to express his views. He...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (2 Nov 2009) has video

Alan Johnson: Yes, I think it would have been. That is why my predecessor decided not to take that advice and why that decision has been endorsed by this Parliament.

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (2 Nov 2009) has video

Alan Johnson: I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for reminding me of that; I will bear it in mind in the doubtless happy days ahead.

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (2 Nov 2009) has video

Alan Johnson: Yes, of course. I just quoted Professor Robin Murray, who believes—I think it is absolutely irrefutable—that the incidence of schizophrenia among the cannabis-smoking population is much higher than among the rest of the population. The causal link is increasingly clear and will, I am sure, become well established in a very short time.

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (2 Nov 2009) has video

Alan Johnson: The ACMD has done a good job, but of course it is the politicians' job to take into account a whole range of other views, not just the views of the scientific community but the views of— [ Interruption. ]

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (2 Nov 2009) has video

Alan Johnson: "Bogus views", says a Liberal Democrat Member. [Interruption.] I was going to say the views of Parliament and the views of the public—if those are considered to be bogus, then I beg to differ.

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (2 Nov 2009) has video

Alan Johnson: I will reflect very carefully on the points that my hon. Friend has made. It is important to recognise, however, that we have an issue with one particular scientific adviser, and that in no way reflects on any of the other many advisers that we have from the scientific community. I would not like this to be classified as a more general problem than it actually is.

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (2 Nov 2009) has video

Alan Johnson: I sincerely hope that it does not, once it has been explained exactly why this episode has occurred and a contrast is drawn with all the reams of other scientific information that we receive. We must be very clear that this is not about the advice that was given by Professor Nutt or anybody else; it is about the way in which Professor Nutt conducted himself in his very important position as...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (2 Nov 2009) has video

Alan Johnson: The simple answer is yes. My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That is why we cannot possibly be expected to accept every single recommendation from every advisory body. The important point is that we treat those recommendations seriously, and respect that advice, not whether we reject them.

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (2 Nov 2009) has video

Alan Johnson: No, it was not. He is entitled to speak on these issues in the public domain provided he is very clear that when he is speaking personally he is not speaking for the advisory council—that was certainly a pertinent point in his actions last week—and that if he is publishing any documents that in any way relate to the Government framework we get first sight of them, and that did not...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (2 Nov 2009) has video

Alan Johnson: I disagree with my hon. Friend in that I do not believe this episode suggests that there should be a review of the 1971 Act. There may or may not be other reasons why an Act that is almost 40 years old needs review, but this episode should be seen in its context of one individual Government adviser acting in a way that I believe undermined the Government rather than supported them in their work.

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (2 Nov 2009) has video

Alan Johnson: I did not say that, but I can say what Government advisers should not do. Once a decision has been made on their recommendations, that is it; they should get on with being the Government's adviser, not continually return to that decision and seek to undermine the Government's framework. That is quite wrong, and Sir David King, who was an eminent chief scientific adviser to the Government,...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (2 Nov 2009) has video

Alan Johnson: We have a code and it has stood the test of time. Perhaps we should look at it again because it is getting frayed at the edges after so long, but it has stood us in good stead and I would interfere with it reluctantly. I really do not think this incident suggests that the code of practice, how the advisory council does its work or how the Government receive scientific advice are wrong. It is...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (2 Nov 2009) has video

Alan Johnson: I did not discuss it with anybody. It was my decision; he was my adviser and I decided that he had lost my confidence by his actions. It is my confidence that he has to keep, and nobody else's, so I took the action that I am perfectly entitled to take as Home Secretary. I have huge respect for John Beddington, who I believe is abroad at the moment on his work, and I will obviously talk to him...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (2 Nov 2009) has video

Alan Johnson: I do not agree with my hon. Friend. The public get a lot of views and comments from all over the place. One can think of various debates, most recently those on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act. There is no absence of views from scientists. It is important to be clear that when someone is the chair of an advisory committee to the Government, their views must not be confused with...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (2 Nov 2009) has video

Alan Johnson: I would tell them what the leading Scottish drugs expert said this morning. Professor McKeganey, director of the Centre for Drug Misuse Research at Glasgow university, who is the adviser on drugs to the Scottish National party Government in Scotland, said that while it is Professor Nutt's right as an academic to state his views on drug risks, "it is not his right to publicly undermine the...