Obsolete

Paul Griffiths at the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction in Portugal said: "Some of the figures quoted are just nonsensical."

He co-authored a report in 2004 which reviewed data on potency. It found that the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the effective potency of cannabis, in Britain has stayed at around 6% for the past 30 years. Strong varieties make up only 15% of the market.

The only country in Europe where potency is increasing is the Netherlands where intensively-grown cannabis has more than 50% of the market.

He argues that concentrating on potency is a red herring. " Do people who drink whisky take in more alcohol than people who drink beer?" he asked. More important is how often people smoke, how early they started and how much they put in a joint.

Mr Blair spoke to me amid the wood-panelled splendour of his rural retreat Chequers in Buckinghamshire.

Around him in the grandeur were photographs of his family, wife Cherie, sons Euan, Nicky and Leo and daughter Kathryn.

He looked tanned and fit after a week-long break in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh.

He sported an open-necked, light blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a pair of black moleskin chinos — and, fittingly with his laidback mood, no watch.

But he was in determined mood when it came to his campaign on hooligans.

NEIGHBOURS from hell are to be EVICTED and left to fend for themselves in a crackdown on yobs planned by Tony Blair.

The worst offenders will have their houses boarded up for at least three months — even if they are homeowners.

The PM unveiled the most controversial part of his Respect agenda by talking exclusively to The Sun in his first public interview of the New Year.

Mr Blair spoke of his “real anger” at the unacceptable yobbery rampant in some inner cities.

And he vowed he wants to end it FOR GOOD.

He said: “People have to know that if they are making life hell for others, they are going to pay the price.

“There’s a duty to respect the rights of those who live around you.

“People who come in at two or three in the morning, playing music in a destructive way, abusing anyone who dares to take them on — that is just not acceptable. They must learn to behave properly to other people.

“I recognise this is controversial but if we are going to restore respect in the community we have to make sure the civil liberties of people to live free from fear comes first.”

A group of Pakistani men detained in Greece after the London bombings yesterday told of alleged beatings, threats and psychological torture they had suffered.

Supporters of the detained men allege that agents from MI6, Britain's overseas intelligence service, were present at the interrogations of some of the men, believed to have been conducted by Greek counterterrorism officials.

British diplomatic and intelligence sources yesterday strongly denied suggestions that UK officials were present at the interrogations.

"Allegations that there was a UK presence are false," said a British official. "There was no UK official present at any of the interviews."

The Pakistanis say they were beaten, blindfolded, kept in solitary confinement and that the Greek agents threatened to kill them if they told of their ordeal.

Mohammad Munir, 35, said he was repeatedly beaten and now lives in fear. He claims 10 Greek agents came into his house, and that he was taken into a room where he was repeatedly punched: "They handcuffed me, made me face the wall and started to beat me. They hit me over the body and I fell down, hit the table and cut my lip, and blood came." The claim was backed by Azhar Mehmood, 35, also in the flat when the agents arrived: "I saw Munir with blood dripping from his mouth and handcuffed." Mr Munir said the traditional Pakistani shirt he was wearing was pulled over his head so he could not see, and he was driven away to be interrogated more.

Mr Munir said he denied any knowledge of the London bombings or any support for terrorism and after six days was released with a chilling threat: "When they let us go they told us not to talk. They said that if we did they would slit our throats." The arrests in Athens happened on July 16 and 17 and Mr Munir explained why it had taken him so long to come forward: "I was very frightened. I could not even talk to my father about this."

A Greek magazine has named a British intelligence officer it claims was present at some of the interrogations. The government has asked editors not to publish the name of the MI6 chief in Athens, identified in Proto Thema.

Scotland Yard has urged the public to remain vigilant to the threat of terrorism, with a new campaign that highlights the risk of further attacks.

The campaign's message is: "Terrorists won't succeed if someone reports suspicious activity."

Almost six months since the London bombings, it urges people to report suspicious bags, vehicles or behaviour.

The Metropolitan Police said it was not in response to a specific threat but "we cannot afford to be complacent."

The head of Scotland Yard's Anti-Terrorist Branch, DAC Peter Clarke, said: "Everyone who lives in London, or visits the city for work or pleasure, has a role to play in making it as difficult as we can for terrorists to operate here.

Another poster encourages retail and bank staff to be aware of fraudulent transactions that may be linked to terrorist fundraising and a fifth focuses on the need for vigilance within the river and marine environment.

The campaign was developed with British Transport Police, City of London Police, Transport for London and the Mayor's Office.

It was accompanied, however, by a personal attack on Gordon Brown, the man he is expected to challenge in 2009 or 2010, which is seemingly at odds with his promise to avoid "Punch and Judy" politics.

Mr Cameron used a trio of Conservative inclined Sunday newspapers, the Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Times and Mail on Sunday, to woo potential Tory voters by saying he would govern for "the least well-off in society, not the rich" and insisting he will not be "the prisoner of an ideological past".