by Conservative minister Penny Mordaunt has sparked anger after mocking a plan aimed at curbing Scotland’s drug death crisis in order to “score cheap points” in a dispute with the SNP.
Warning that undermining proven health interventions “costs lives,” experts consulted by The independent He accused Mordaunt of “bashing a group of people who are among the most marginalized and vilified in society” and urged ministers to prioritize solving England’s own overdose crisis.
Scotland’s overdose rate is the highest in Europe, with 1,051 drug-related deaths last year despite a record reduction in deaths, amid a national push to tackle the crisis. South of the border, drug deaths have also tripled in less than a decade to reach an all-time high of 4,859 in 2021.
Despite long-standing opposition from the UK government, backing from Scotland’s most senior judicial officer in September has paved the way for a planned drug consumption room in Glasgow, a space where people can take drugs in the presence of medical professionals available to prevent overdose. they occur.
But Mordaunt attempted to use the plan as a punchline on Thursday in a tirade against the SNP’s “appalling legacy” for Scottish children, while criticizing “a broken education system, a widening achievement gap, fewer teachers, falling maths scores in all PISA exams. survey, science at a low level and literacy rates in free fall.”
“But of course they will have a safe and warm place to take heroin,” the cabinet minister told the Commons.
The comments were met with dismay both north and south of the border among experts and politicians, including those who have lost loved ones to drug overdoses.
Gavin Heron, who lost his brother Evan, 25, to a heroin overdose in November 2021, said: “He died alone in his home, a week after moving in from a heroin overdose. “Penny Mordaunt used people like my brother to get cheap points today, but we know safe consumption rooms work.”
Recalling personally witnessing an overdose reversal at a Lisbon centre, Mr Heron added: “I have seen the criticism that ‘they only delay death’ or that [they] They are “palliative care.” To that I say: who are you to say that someone should die from using drugs? Tell that to liver transplant recipients: would you sentence them to death and deny them the gift of life?
“I don’t know if a safe consumption room would have saved my brother, but we need different types of help for different people and different circumstances. People are injecting themselves with misery and without dignity. Would you like to be part of a society that rejects you so brutally and considers your needs and your life to be surplus to needs?
“Let’s do everything we can to resolve this crisis. “We owe it to people like my brother and to all those who have died from drug-related causes in this country.”
Responding to the former Conservative leadership hopeful’s jibe, SNP MP Stewart McDonald wrote on Twitter/X: “You disgrace yourself, Penny Mordaunt.
“My brother died of a drug overdose at home. If he had access to a health care facility, such as a safe consumption room (a ‘safe and warm’ place, as you say) to manage his addiction, then he might well still be alive today.”
speaking to The National newspaper – which criticized “disgraceful” comments on its front page – Scottish Drugs Forum chief executive Kirsten Horsburgh warned that “undermining harm reduction approaches costs lives”.
“This is an unhelpful perspective and ridicules a proven service that engages and supports people who are particularly vulnerable to drug-related harm,” Ms Horsburgh said.
Peter Krykant, who risked the prospect of a criminal conviction by setting up a mobile overdose prevention center in an ambulance in Glasgow three years ago in defiance of UK laws, described Ms Mordaunt’s comments as “heartless”.
“Drug death rates in Scotland are the highest in Europe, we are implementing something proven around the world to reduce deaths and harm, but Ms Mordaunt’s disregard is brutal,” Mr Krykant said.
Experts also highlighted the fact that fatal overdoses are a public health crisis across the UK – not just Scotland – and accused the UK government of creating a “hostile environment” for people who use drugs.
“Mordaunt’s comment was a low blow, hitting a group of people who are among the most marginalized and vilified in society,” said Niamh Eastwood, chief executive of the charity Release. The independent.
“She talks about the SNP, but almost 11,000 people have died from heroin-related causes in England alone since the Conservatives came to power in 2010. Every year since 2011, drug-related deaths have broken records in all four countries .
“We are currently experiencing an increasingly toxic drug supply leading to an increase in overdose deaths. Mordaunt’s priority should be to focus on the crisis occurring in England and other parts of the UK, and not on glib comments about the Scottish Government’s desire to provide “safe and warm” spaces.
“These spaces can save lives, but it is clear that the UK government wants to continue creating an unsafe and hostile environment for people who use drugs.”
The row comes after cross-party MPs on the Home Affairs committee urged the government to support a drug consumption room pilot project.
“Overdose prevention centers around the world have been shown to reduce drug harm as well as drug-related deaths,” said Megan Jones, director of the Cranstoun charity. The independent – and urged ministers to back the committee’s report.
“At a time when across the UK we are facing a public health crisis regarding people dying from overdoses, we are urging the government to look at the evidence relating to these facilities.”
