Home Affairs Committee

Sir Richard Branson has called for the government to treat drug use as a health problem, rather than a criminal offence.

The Virgin boss gave evidence to the Commons Home Affairs committee on 24 January 2012, due to his role on the Global Commission on Drugs Policy.

He told MPs that the "war on drugs" had failed and said that responsibility for the problem should be handed from the Home Office to the Department for Health.

The committee also heard from Ruth Dreifuss, a fellow member of the commission and a former president of Switzerland.

She said that describing drug abuse as a public health matter "sent out a stronger message" than treating it as a criminal problem.

Sir Richard and Ms Dreifuss are both members of the commission.

The commission's report calls for the legalisation of some drugs and an end to the criminalisation of drug users.

It argues that anti-drug policy has failed by fuelling organised crime, costing taxpayers millions of dollars and causing thousands of deaths.

Following evidence from the two commissioners, the committee heard from Dame Ruth Runciman and Roger Howard from the UK Drugs Policy Commission.

MPs then moved on to a brief, unrelated session with the Metropolitan Police's Cressida Dick as part of an ongoing inquiry into counter-terrorism in the run up to the London Olympics.