Latest news with #MatthewPennycook
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Sadiq Khan slapped down by Met Police chief and Labour ministers over his call to decriminalise cannabis
Sir was today slapped down by the head of the Metropolitan Police and a Government minister over his call to decriminalise some cannabis possession. The London mayor backed a new report by the independent London Drugs Commission (LDC), which he set up in 2022. He said it provided 'a compelling, evidence-based case' for decriminalisation and urged the Government to consider the move. The LDC found the current laws on cannabis were 'disproportionate to the harms it can pose' following a study of how the drug is policed around the world. It stopped short of calling for full decriminalisation, saying the long-term harms to public health were 'not yet well understood'. The LDC instead called for 'natural' – as opposed to 'synthetic' – cannabis to be moved from the Misuse of Drugs Act to the Psychoactive Substances Act. This would effectively legalise possession of small amounts for personal use while continuing to prohibit importing, manufacturing or distributing the drug. But Labour minister Matthew Pennycook said the Government's stance 'remains unchanged'. And Scotland Yard also opposed the London mayor's call. Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said drug use is a 'big issue' for communities, driving anti-social behaviour and acquisitive crime. He added that a change in the law on cannabis is 'not something we're calling for'. Sir Mark told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'At the moment we see drugs being at the centre of a lot of crime. 'Drug dealing is so linked to violence, the county lines we close down – over 80 per cent of the people behind those lines have got violent backgrounds. 'We see a lot of communities complaining about public drug use, and that's a big issue in terms of anti-social behaviour.' Asked if the job of police officers would be easier if they weren't chasing those in possession of small amounts of cannabis, he added: 'The law is a matter for Parliament. 'We're chasing around people who are using drugs in public, which is a concern to communities. 'We see drug users becoming addicted and that driving acquisitive crime. It's a big part in our current operations. 'If the law changes, we'll change around it. But it's not something we're calling for.' Mr Pennycook, a housing, communities and local government minister, also dismissed Sir Sadiq's call. He told Times Radio: 'The mayor is obviously entitled to his view on the matter but the Government position on cannabis classification remains unchanged. 'We have no intention of reclassifying cannabis from a class B substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act. 'Our focus is continuing to work with partners across health, policing and wider public services to drive down drug use, ensure more people receive timely treatment and support, and make our communities and streets safer.' The LDC is chaired by Labour peer Lord Charlie Falconer, a former justice secretary, who said he recognised the public do not want people 'smoking joints in the street'. But he argued that bylaws could be used to stop anti-social behaviour issues. 'I think people would be concerned if legalising cannabis made what they would regard as anti-social behaviour much more common – so they would not want to see people smoking cannabis joints openly in the street,' Lord Falconer told the BBC. 'They would not like to see dealing openly in the streets, and I think that's a very important consideration that was put to us. 'You can use bylaws to make sure, for example, people can't use cannabis in parks. Dealing will still be criminal, so those aspects will remain subject to control.' Under current laws, cannabis is a class B drug and those found in possession face a fine or imprisonment. Sir Sadiq said: 'The LDC report makes a compelling, evidenced-based case for the decriminalisation of possession of small quantities of natural cannabis which the Government should consider. 'It says that the current sentencing for those caught in possession of natural cannabis cannot be justified given its relative harm and people's experience of the justice system. 'We must recognise that better education, improved healthcare and more effective, equitable policing of cannabis use are long overdue.' A Home Office spokesman said: 'We will continue to work with partners across health, policing and wider public services to drive down drug use, ensure more people receive timely treatment and support, and make our streets and communities safer. 'The Government has no intention of reclassifying cannabis from a Class B substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act.' Ssenior Tory MP Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: 'Possession of cannabis should not be decriminalised like this. 'We have seen some US and Canadian cities devastated by soft policies on addictive and harmful drugs – now Sadiq Khan wants to send London the same way. 'Cannabis is illegal for a reason. Cannabis is associated with anti-social behaviour and heavy use can lead to serious psychosis and severed mental health problems. 'I completely oppose these plans. But with a weak Labour Government in power, there's no telling how they will react. We must stop soft Sadiq.'
The Independent
7 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Labour minister hits out at Sadiq Khan's call for cannabis law reform
A Labour minister has rejected Sir Sadiq Khan 's calls for the partial decriminalisation of cannabis, stating that the government's stance 'remains unchanged'. London 's mayor backed a report by the London Drugs Commission (LDC), which recommends that natural cannabis be removed from the Misuse of Drugs Act. The LDC, set up by Sir Sadiq in 2022 and chaired by former lord chancellor Lord Charlie Falconer, found the current laws on cannabis were 'disproportionate to the harms it can pose' following a study of how the drug is policed around the world. Housing minister Matthew Pennycook said that whilst the London mayor is 'entitled to his view on the matter', there is no intention to reclassify the class B drug.
The Guardian
7 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
UK politics live: minister defends Labour's justice record after warnings of threat to public safety
Update: Date: Title: Minister defends government's record on prisons and sentencing after warning from security officials Content: Housing minister Matthew Pennycook has defended the government's record on prisons and sentencing in England and Wales after criticism from senior security officials, but said 'we can't build our way out of' prison capacity pressures in the short term. Earlier today the Times newspaper reported that the heads of the Metropolitan police, MI5 and the National Crime Agency have told the government that plans to release prisoners early could be of 'net detriment to public safety.' Speaking on Times Radio the minister said 'The risk to public safety I'd highlight is the prospect of our prison system collapsing, which is what we face and why we've had to act.' He continued by saying: What we were handed by the previous government in terms of the state of our prison system was nothing short of criminal neglect. They added just 500 places to the prison estate in their time in office, while at the same time, sentence lengths rose, and as a result, we got the prison population rising by approximately 3,000 people each year. And we're heading back to zero capacity. If we run out of capacity, courts will be forced to suspend trials, the police will have to halt arrests, crimes will go unpunished. We'll essentially be in a breakdown of law and order, so while we're trying to add prison places as fast as we can as a Government – and we've already created 2,400 since taking office, allocated an additional £4.7bn to prison building, putting us on track to hit 14,000 places by 2031, we can't build our way out of this particular crisis we've inherited because demand for places will outstrip supply. So sentencing reform is necessary. In a letter to the Times, six police chiefs have warned that without 'serious investment' they will be unable to deliver on the prime minister's flagship pledges. The warning comes ahead of the government spending review, and they cautioned that cuts will lead to the 'retrenchment we saw under austerity'. Update: Date: 2025-05-28T07:48:28.000Z Title: Welcome and opening summary Content: Welcome to our rolling coverage of UK politics for Wednesday. Here are the headlines … Housing minister Matthew Pennycook has defended the government's record on prisons and sentencing in England and Wales after police chiefs warned that sentencing reforms could put pressure on frontline services The government has announced a package of measures it says is designed to streamline the planning system for small and medium sized housebuilders The Treasury is reported to be in a standoff with some ministers over proposed cuts to public services including policing and social housing Nigel Farage has been accused of leaving a multibillion-pound black hole at the heart of Reform UK's spending plans after unveiling a series of expensive policy pledges to be paid for by cutting nonexistent items of government spending The national water regulator Ofwat has fined Thames Water nearly £123m after two investigations into the company London mayor Sadiq Khan has called for partial decriminalisation of cannabis possession It is Martin Belam with you here. You can reach me at if you spot typos, errors or omissions, or have a question.
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Labour blocks proposal for ‘swift bricks' in all new homes
Providing every new home with at least one 'swift brick' to help endangered cavity-nesting birds has been rejected by Labour at the committee stage of its increasingly controversial planning bill. The amendment to the bill to ask every developer to provide a £35 hollow brick for swifts, house martins, sparrows and starlings, which was tabled by Labour MP Barry Gardiner, has been rejected by the Labour-dominated committee. Despite the Labour party having supported the swift brick amendment when it was tabled on Conservative government legislation in 2023, housing minister, Matthew Pennycook, told the House of Commons committee: 'We are not convinced that legislating to mandate the use of specific wildlife features is the right approach, whether that is done through building regulations or a freestanding legal requirement.' A new petition calling for swift bricks to be made mandatory for new homes has rapidly reached 80,000 signatures in recent days, two years after activist Hannah Bourne-Taylor won a parliamentary debate to help the rapidly declining migratory birds after 109,896 voters signed a government petition. Bourne-Taylor said there appeared to be 'no logic' to the government's opposition to swift bricks when they precisely meet its ambition of creating win-wins for the economy and nature. 'They are going to be building millions of bricks into walls. I don't understand why there's such a problem with a brick with a hole in it. It seems ludicrous,' she said. 'Why say your new legislation is a win-win for new homes and the environment and exclude the only measure that is a true win-win? 'They are tone-deaf. This is such a tiny thing they could do, but it's brewing such a distrust and sense of betrayal among the people who voted for them.' Although some housebuilders are incorporating swift bricks in newbuilds, a recent University of Sheffield study found that 75% of bird and bat boxes demanded as a condition of planning permission for new housing developments had failed to materialise when the housing estates were complete. Asked if he would meet MPs to discuss how to encourage the building industry to adopt swift bricks more widely, Pennycook said he would be happy to have conversations with MPs despite claiming his correctly reported opposition to mandatory cavity-nesting bricks had been 'spun' in a Guardian report. These comments follow Pennycook's recent defence of the planning bill's proposed amendments to the Protection of Badgers Act that MPs warned would lead to 'hostile treatment' of the much-persecuted animal in which the minister joked: 'I would just like to make very clear, for the Guardian article that will no doubt appear tomorrow, that I have no particular animus against badgers in whatever form.' Bourne-Taylor said she hoped that the swift brick amendment would now be championed by the House of Lords. If that fails, Bourne-Taylor hopes to take her campaign to the wider public once again. The rising new petition for swift bricks 'just goes to show the public concern,' she said. 'The government are not listening to the public or the experts.'
Times
12-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Labour admits ‘steep' rise in housebuilding needed to hit UK target
Housebuilding will have to double within two years to hit Labour's target of 1.5 million homes, ministers have acknowledged. Britain will have to build 374,000 homes a year from 2027, official estimates say, the first time the government has put yearly figures on a goal that is central to Sir Keir Starmer's push for growth. Matthew Pennycook, the housing minister, insisted the government was 'on track' to hit the target, promising 'very, very high' rates of building at the end of the parliament, likened by government sources to a 'hockey stick' chart. But many experts are sceptical, pointing to shortages of construction workers as well as delays in the planning system. Last year just 184,390 homes were completed, and construction began on only 132,460, figures
