No, it was not. He is entitled to speak on these issues in the public domain provided he is very clear that when he is speaking personally he is not speaking for the advisory council—that was certainly a pertinent point in his actions last week—and that if he is publishing any documents that in any way relate to the Government framework we get first sight of them, and that did not happen. There are a number of measures; one cannot lay out every single dot and comma of how a relationship should work. All I would say is that since 1971 this particular council, and its chairs, has worked very well for successive Governments, but the situation broke down on this occasion.
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs
Proceeding contribution from
Alan Johnson
(Labour)
in the House of Commons on Monday, 2 November 2009.
It occurred during Urgent question on Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.
Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
498 c582 
Session
2008-09
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Subjects
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Timestamp
2023-11-25 19:52:14 +0000
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