Drug expert is rejected from advisory committee for criticising government

An expert on drug policy has been disallowed from joining the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs because of criticisms she made of the government’s position on drug consumption rooms.

Niamh Eastwood, executive director at Release, an independent body that provides expertise on drugs and drug law, had been cleared to join the council by the Home Office’s advisory assessment panel but was later rejected after her social media activity was vetted.

Eastwood had previously used Twitter to express negative views of the government’s drug policy, including a post saying that the government had misrepresented the evidence in relation …