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Drug Traffickers

Angela Watkinson (Upminster) (Con): In Upminster, two separate shootings have occurred in the past week, and the police suspect that both of them relate to drug turf wars. Will the Minister reflect on that fact, and then will she reflect on the following: gun crime has doubled; this country is now known as the drug capital of Europe; and this Government's drug policy has been an abject failure?

Caroline Flint: Gun crime is very low in this country. It has increased in recent years, but the rate of increase has gone down, and the number of fatalities caused by handguns has decreased considerably—[Interruption.] There has been an increase in incidents involving imitations. The use of weapons by drug gangs raises some issues, which is why we launched Operation Crackdown this year. We have made sure that not only are drugs seized and drug dealers arrested, but firearms are taken away. For the hon. Lady's information, in the first four weeks of Operation Crackdown, the 33 forces taking part arrested nearly 1,000 people for class A drug supply, closed 42 crack houses and seized nearly £1 million in suspected drug cash, 71 firearms and 86 replicas. We are taking a joined-up approach to that serious matter, and although we are not complacent, we are making progress.

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