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Kensington clubs and bars all face cocaine tests
Katharine Barney, Evening Standard21.05.08
Every bar, pub and nightclub across a swathe of central London is to be tested for evidence of cocaine use.
Squads of officials armed with swabbing kits, and backed up by police, will be sent to all licensed premises in Kensington and Chelsea over the next six months.
The council has written to its 215 licenceholders warning them of the plan and seeking their co-operation.
However, the venues have not been told when they will be visited.
Tests will be carried out in the lavatories. Officers will use swabs that turn blue when they come into contact with cocaine. These can detect traces of the drug invisible to the naked eye.
Where traces of cocaine are found, the venue's owners will be told to take action to discourage drug-taking.
This could include measures such as minimising the number of flat surfaces in lavatories to make taking the substance more difficult and banning more than one person from entering a cubicle at the same time.
Officials will return to the premises four to six weeks after the first visit.
Nicholas Paget-Brown, cabinet member for leisure on Kensington and Chelsea council, said: "In the vast majority of cases licensees do not want this going on.
"Together with them, our message to drug users and drug dealers is that we will not turn a blind eye and we will run them out of our pubs and clubs.
"Drugs use occurs across the country and the royal borough is no different." A recent newspaper investigation discovered evidence of cocaine in some of the area's most exclusive clubs, including those frequented by Princes William and Harry.
Using the same type of swabs as the council will use, an undercover reporter took samples in Boujis nightclub in South Kensington and allegedly found evidence of cocaine use in the lavatories several times in one night.
No one from Boujis was available for comment about the council sweeps but at the time of the earlier investigation, manager Jake Parkinson-Smith, said: "We have a zero-tolerance policy against any type of drug at Boujis.
"Anyone found with drugs is immediately ejected and the police informed."
Mr Paget-Brown said: "Lots and lots of money is changing hands from drugs across London and often other crime is associated.
"But it is also City high-fliers and the middle classes and what we have to remember is that even if crime is not associated with this drug-taking, it can ruin lives.
"Our exercise will help us identify those premises that have a problem, so we can work with the licensees on how to minimise drug-taking.
"We have a very good relationship with the licensed trade and we look forward to working together to reduce this problem."
Reader views (3)
They should check the cisterns in the House of Commons. There is no "war on drugs" - never has been. The drugs trade is tightly controlled by the government and the security services. It is naive in the extreme to imagine that the government gives a monkey's about our health.
- Neil, london uk
When is somebody going to accept that this war on drugs that has been going on now for 50 odd years and has cost several billions of pounds has been an abject and utter failure. If they were winning then the price would be and would have gone up over the years. As it is its so much cheaper now compared to 20 years ago. All we do is make the drug gangs Billions and billions. Its time to have a debate about this and not a screaming emotive slanging match. Like immigration and race, drugs bring out very strong feelings in people but its time to admit that what we are doing and have been doing is not working. Drugs like alcohol are used by certain people as an excuse for their behaviour but that's all it is. An excuse.
- Duncan Walker, Ex Peckham now Samui Thailand
It's going to be very quiet in the West End for the next 6 months then.
- Jimbob, Kensington
