Sir Keir Starmer is facing a storm today after backing Scotland's controversial move to 'go soft' on drugs possession.
Drugs were effectively decriminalised north of the border earlier this week as prosecutors announced police would be advised to issue only a 'recorded police warning' to anyone in possession of drugs, including Class A heroin and cocaine.
And the Labour leader suggested he would support the step in the rest of the UK, saying it was 'probably the right thing to do'.
However, his comments in an ITV interview were seized upon by Home Secretary Priti Patel who wrote on Twitter: 'Drugs devastate lives. They ruin communities and tear families apart.'
She added, in a twist on ex-PM Tony Blair's famous vote-winning 'tough on crime' slogan: 'Under Keir Starmer, Labour is weak on crime and weak on the causes of crime.'
Pressed repeatedly on what he thought of the approach in Scotland - which has been backed by Scottish Labour - Sir Keir said: 'It is probably the right thing to do. It is an independent decision that is being made.'
Sir Keir, a former Director of Public Prosecutions, insisted he was not in favour of scrapping drugs laws altogether.
'There is a world of difference between a decision not to prosecute a particular case and ripping up the drug laws,' he said.
'It is not unusual in any legal system for those caught with a small amount of cannabis not to be prosecuted.'
Sir Keir Starmer is facing a storm today after backing Scotland's controversial move to 'go soft' on drugs possession
His comments in an ITV interview were seized upon by Home Secretary Priti Patel
The shake-up in Scotland was announced by the country's Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain.
It will not go to a vote because the senior law officer has the power to update guidelines issued to police. Drugs policy in the rest of the UK remains unchanged.
Drug deaths soared to a record high of 1,339 in Scotland last year, more than three and half times the rate for the rest of the UK.
Opposition leaders in Scotland have condemned the lack of parliamentary scrutiny.
'The Scottish parliament must have a say with a full debate and vote on this topic, not just a quick Q&A session,' said Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Jamie Greene.
'We need to fully scrutinise the gravity of a decision of such importance and magnitude.
'Scotland's drug death crisis is our national shame, but the way to tackle it is to improve access to treatment and rehabilitation, not to dilute how seriously we treat possession of deadly drugs like heroin, crystal meth and crack cocaine.
'The answer to our drugs crisis is more access to treatment, not this de facto decriminalisation by the back door.'
Tom Buchan, a former chief superintendent with now-defunct Strathclyde Police, said: 'This is a surrender – the white flag has gone up. It will have no benefits at all and it comes in the middle of a huge drugs emergency – it's more soft-touch nonsense.
'I feel sorry for the officers who
