It will be fascinating to see what happens to Tony Blair's and Jack Straw's latest proposal for racking up New Labour's 'War on Drugs'. Namely, the idea that in future all arrestees should receive mandatory drug testing, and those found positive for cocaine or heroin refused bail. This idea, which was dreamed up on the eve of the Labour conference as a vote getter, has never appeared in the National Drug Strategy, runs counter to the attempt to provide arrest referral workers (what do you need drug workers in police stations for now?) and doesn't even have the support of the police.

Indeed, the police have come out against the proposal, condemning it as unworkable and expensive. Roger Howard, Chief Executive of the Standing Conference on Drug Abuse (an umbrella group of around 600 drugs agencies) calls the plan 'bizarre and pointless'. If the information from such tests was planned to be put to some use, the European Court would throw the whole project out. There's no chance it would comply with European law, which, since the government incorporated the European Convention it would have to.

Civil liberties groups are also up in arms about the proposal,. John Wadham of Liberty said 'Eroding rights won't crack crime and this approach misses the whole point Ð which is to stop people becoming problematic drug users in the first place.' Still, when was the last time this government bothered to listen to anything other than a Focus Group of Ford Galaxy owners in Surbiton? But just for the sake of it, why not write to your MP, the Drug Tsar or Tony Blair himself?

For help in where to write to in making complaints contact Monkey on 0161-912-3213.