All drugs should be legalised to beat dealers, says former UK minister

All illicit substances, including heroin and cocaine, should be legalised, according to a former drugs minister who will today become the most senior politician to push for a dramatic change in the strategy for tackling Britain's drug problems.

Bob Ainsworth, a former Parliamentary Under-Secretary with responsibility for Drugs and Organised Crime and Minister of State for the Armed Forces, will argue that it is better for addicts to receive their fixes on prescription rather than relying for their supply on the international criminal gangs that make billions of pounds from the trade.

Mr Ainsworth told The Independent last night: "We need to take effective measures to rob the dealers of their markets and the only way that we can do that is by supplying addicts through the medical profession, through prescription. We cannot afford to be shy about being prepared to do that."

The call met with a stinging retort from fellow Labour MP John Mann, who carried out an inquiry into hard drug use in his Bassetlaw constituency while Mr Ainsworth was drugs minister.

A party source described the legalisation proposal as "extremely irresponsible".