Home Secretary Smith admits smoking cannabis

LONDON, July 19 (Reuters) Home Secretary Jacqui Smith admitted today she smoked cannabis while at university, a day after it was announced that penalties for its use could be tightened.

''I smoked cannabis a few times, I think it was wrong,'' she told Sky News.

She said she had not taken any other drugs and said she did not think it compromised her position.

''I think as Home Secretary what people would be bothered about is whether or not there are more people able to get (drug) treatment, whether or not the sort of crime linked to drugs is coming down,'' she said.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown promoted Smith to Home Secretary last month as he took over the premiership from Tony Blair.

Yesterday, he said Smith would be consulting on whether cannabis should be reclassified from Class C to a Class B drug because of the dangers associated with stronger strains of the narcotic.

Smith made her admission ahead of the publication of annual crime figures and as she was preparing to unveil the government's new crime strategy.

She said the strategy would include giving local communities information about crime levels in their areas.

She defended the government's crime policies against criticism by a committee of MPs which said billions of extra pounds spent on the police since Labour came to power has made no clear impact on crime.

The Home Affairs Select Committee said it was ''puzzling'' that falls in crime since 1997 took place before the government significantly boosted police budgets.

The MPs said they would have expected the extra investment in the police service to have had a measurable impact.

''We know the police have had a major increase in funding over the last decade but it is much more difficult to tell what they have done with it,'' said David Winnick, acting chairman of the committee.

''Overall it doesn't seem to have been directly responsible for the reduction in crime or any increase in convictions.'' The latest crime figures for England and Wales will cover the year to March 2007.

The annual report is based on police figures and from the British Crime Survey, which is compiled from interviews with more than 40,000 members of the public.

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