Diana Johnson MP, Labour’s Shadow Crime and Security Minister, responding to a government review on legal highs, said:

“The Home Secretary came into office promising ‘swift action’ on legal highs, but three years later she is simply launching a review. In the meantime hundreds of substances have come onto the UK market and thousands of sellers have opened up.

“While David Cameron and the Home Secretary buried their heads in the sand, local authorities trying to crack down on shops selling these drug have been thwarted by hopelessly out-of-date legislation which allows sellers to pretend that these drugs are research chemicals.

“Labour proposed an amendment to Anti-Social Behaviour Bill which would have allowed successful prosecutions of shops selling these drugs and restricted the supply of legal highs. If this Tory-led Government was serious about helping to close down these shops they’d back Labour’s amendment.”