Keith Hellawell: "We have made progress"

Jack Cunningham, Minister for the Cabinet Office, said the former police chief constable had shown his determination to carry out the government's policies.

Dr Cunningham was speaking on the first anniversary of Mr Hellawell's appointment to the post, the first of its kind in the UK.

"The government came into office with a manifesto commitment to appoint an Anti-Drugs Co-ordinator to galvanise the entire range of Government activities and tackle the problem of drug misuse within our society," said Dr Cunningham, the so-called Cabinet "enforcer".

"Keith Hellawell has brought considerable energy, experience and determination to the job.

"He and his staff in the UK Anti-Drugs Co-ordination Unit have made this a crucial year in re-defining our future direction.

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"We launched a 10-year strategy last April - real long term commitment - and from this year there will be an annual report and national plan of action vividly illustrating progress."

Mr Hellawell is charged with helping the government shift drugs policy toward prevention rather than reaction.

Major changes in the past year include legislation on drugs education and prevention along with moves to bring the different agencies working in the drugs field closer together.

Targets set by the drugs programme include:

• Helping young people to resist drug misuse

• Protecting communities from drug-related anti-social behaviour

• Improving the availability of treatments

• Smothering the supply of drugs on the UK's streets

US post

Mr Hellawell's post comes from the "drug's czar" scheme in the United States.

It aims to pull together various agencies tackling the problem, such as police forces and schools so that they can form a joint strategy.

Mr Hellawell was frequently outspoken on drugs during his time as Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, citing that drugs was at the heart of many of Leeds' crime problems.

But since taking office he has dispelled views that he favoured any form of decriminalising soft drugs.

Critics of the drugs czar strategy in the US say that its often zero-tolerance approach has done little to tackle widespread problems.

But defending the approach, Mr Hellawell said: "The new anti-drugs strategy is a very sophisticated response to a complex issue and its value has been widely recognised, not least by the United Nations."

Mr Hellawell said a "multi-disciplinary approach" by all agencies is vital to the 10-year action plan.

He said it had already seen success in ensuring that 106 "Drug Action Teams" help set national targets.

Opposition to approach

While Mr Hellawell has helped the government develop new policies, he has faced a barrage of criticism from groups calling for a new approach.

Paul Flynn: "There is only one danger with cannabis"

The Independent on Sunday newspaper has enlisted politicians and public figures in a campaign to decriminalise cannabis, arguing that it does no harm.

And Labour MP Paul Flynn, a campaigner for decriminalisation, said: "The most dangerous thing about cannabis is the fact that it is illegal.

"Our young people, the majority of whom are using cannabis, experimenting in some form, have to go to the criminal markets to get it."