An army that’s soft on drugs is a danger to the entire nation

AN ARMY where drug abuse is tolerated will be a bad, undisciplined Army, less dangerous to our enemies and more dangerous to itself and to us. By softening their policy on this vital issue, service chiefs are dodging a battle they will eventually have to fight anyway.

The hard way of responding to Britain’s increasingly lax drug culture is to refuse to accept the lower standards of civilian life and to make it severely plain that the soft approach stops at the barrack gate.

There are plenty of young people in this country who do not take drugs, and who are ready and willing to serve in a disciplined force. It is just that the Army’s current recruiting practices are not finding enough of them. In that case, those policies must be changed. Those in charge must simply try harder, and be more choosy.

Such a course of action will mean having to reject a growing number of applicants. But in the long run it will mean that the Army is spared grave discipline problems, and worse, further down the line.

It is simply not safe to allow drug abusers to handle vital and sensitive equipment, or to carry or control loaded weapons. When things go wrong, as they undoubtedly will if we are weak on this issue, there will be loud cries that ‘something must be done’. But they will be too late. Now is the time to act.

So the Army is making a grave mistake by watering down its previously firm antidrug policy. It is absurd to allow former soldiers, thrown out for drugs offences, to return to the ranks. It would be a gross abuse of taxpayers’ money to offer them ‘golden hello’ payments to encourage them to return.

Such money would be much better spent on a badly needed rebuilding of Army recruiting, which was mistakenly handed over to the outsourcing giant Capita in 2012, and has struggled since.

Appeasing threats, as we are doing now by softening the Army’s drug rules, merely postpones the problem, and usually ensures that it will be far worse when we are eventually forced to confront it. National defence is at stake. Others may have chosen weakness on this issue and they too will pay for it later. But the Army cannot afford to continue in this way.

Don’t let dreary rivals silence Boris

IT REALLY does not matter whether you agree or disagree with Boris Johnson. He is entitled to speak his mind, and if he chooses to do so in a colourful and provocative way, why shouldn’t he? We already have enough dreary political plodders who can barely explain what they had for breakfast, let alone how they think we should tackle the future.

It is quite ridiculous that the Tory Party is picking through the words of Mr Johnson and his allies, looking for ways to be offended by them. No serious argument can be had without upsetting somebody, and none of our truly great past leaders could have survived such an inquisition. The Tories should stand up for free speech, and let Boris be Boris.

Shred the lot of it

A PICTURE by the much-hyped Banksy has been shredded. Who will really miss it?

The modern art market thrives on stunts and on trying to outrage normal people who prefer proper paintings and sculptures. Most of us would not be sorry if they shredded the lot, from that unmade bed to the silly pickled shark.