LABOUR politicians dodged a question over the politicisation of police during a fringe event on reviving Britain’s high streets on Tuesday.

Retired public health professional Bob Young told the panel during a Q&A that rank-and-file officers believed that the criminalisation of drugs was a “failed policy.”

He added that officers seeking promotion, beyond the rank of superintendent, would be overlooked if they avoided “toeing the party line” on treating illicit drug use as a criminal matter, rather than a public health issue.