LETTER:Drugs and crime

From Mr John Alderson

Sir: I am grateful to the press secretary of the Ministry of Defence (letter, 20 November) for pointing out that in his recent speech to the leaders of the armed forces, Michael Portillo did not refer to "inner- city crime" specifically, for I would not wish to misrepresent him.

I would only like to point out that, in the policeman's world, drug trafficking and inner-city crime are inexorably linked, and involvement in one is likely to lead to involvement in the other, as the Army would know from its experience in Northern Ireland.

Yours faithfully,

John Alderson

Ottery St Mary,

Devon

21 November

The writer was Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall, 1973-82.