ONCE again an incident

first reported as terrorism turns out to be the random act of a mentally ill person. In this case it was Zakaria Bulhan, who killed retired teacher Darlene Horton, in Russell Square, London, last August. The same thing happened when the equally insane Muhaydin Mire stabbed a random victim at Leytonstone Underground station in December 2015.

As it happens, many other violent acts officially designated as ‘terrorist’ have been conducted by people who were plainly mentally unhinged. And we have also seen several crimes chillingly similar to terror acts – including beheadings – but where there was no conceivable political motive.

Thanks to near-total lack of interest from the police, Government and media, we seldom find out if these people have been taking drugs. Sometimes we do. Mire undoubtedly had been.

But why won’t we look into this rather obvious connection? This sort of violence is new. So is the widespread use of mind-altering drugs, both legal and illegal.

The same goes for the disturbing number of young people suffering from mental illness in general.

It would hardly be a surprise if those who took such drugs became mentally ill. Is it the power of the very wealthy pro-drugs lobbies, on the verge of winning their campaign for legalisation, that keeps us from examining this urgent question? I suspect so.