Department of Health and Social Care written question – answered at on 8 October 2025.
James McMurdock
Independent, South Basildon and East Thurrock
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of illegally traded medicines intercepted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency Criminal Enforcement Unit.
Zubir Ahmed
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), acting on behalf of my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is responsible for the regulation of medicines intended for human use in the United Kingdom. This includes applying the legal controls on the retail sale, supply and advertising of medicines which are set out in the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.
The MHRA’s Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU) works hard to identify those involved in the illegal trade in medicines and takes robust enforcement action where necessary. The Agency also works closely with overseas health regulators, customs authorities, law enforcement agencies, and private sector partners.
Since 1 January 2025, the MHRA and its partners have seized over 8.5 million doses of unauthorised or falsified medicines at the United Kingdom border, together with another 3.9 million doses seized as a result of direct operational activity conducted by the CEU.
Yes4 people think so
No4 people think not
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
