Cook: new focus for MI6

The Foreign Secretary talks to BBC Television

Cook Orders MI6 into Battle against Drugs Trade

Mr Cook said: "My Government has decided to use all the resources available to it to fight this scourge. This is not simply a restatement of old policy - we will refocus all resources to make this a top priority. Our diplomatic, aid, law enforcement and intelligence assets will all be targeted at fighting the international drugs trade."

The narcotics found by customs are the tip of the drugs iceberg

In a speech to the Institute for Diplomacy and Foreign Relations in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, Mr Cook said Britain needed help to "bear down on this scourge as never before".

Despite the threat of stiff penalties in Malaysia and Singapore, there is growing concern about the spread of drugs across south-east Asia.

The death penalty is mandatory for the possession of even relatively small amounts of heroin, cocaine and cannabis in both states, which have introduced widespread drugs education and advertising programmes.

Burma: a cause for concern in SE Asia

But the use of opium has a long history across the region and some of the world's biggest and most profitable drug production areas are located there.

Professor Christopher Andrew of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, explains the role MI6 will play
Dur: 2'27"

Burma is a particular cause for concern for the Foreign Secretary - with the apparent acquiescence of the country's military regime. It is now thought to be the world's largest single producer of opium.

Mr Cook said: "The failure of the regime in Burma to address this issue - indeed their apparent willingness to abet and profit from the drugs trade - deserves the strongest condemnation."

Poppies: the primary material of the drugs trade in Asia

He has expressed support for strong stand taken by US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in condemning the Burmese military junta for prifiting from criminal activity. And he has urged countries in south-east Asia to "force" the Burmese to recognise the damage they are doing to the future of their country and the region by conniving with the drugs barons.

Mr Cook, who is on a six-day tour of south-east Asia, said the Labour Government, when elected, had pledged that Britain would set an example for concerted action against drugs.

He said the Government was taking steps to:

• Overhaul its own coordination mechanisms
• Concentrate Britain's efforts on the sources of supply
• Argue, within the European Union and elsewhere, for tougher action against countries not playing their part in the fight against drugs
• Attack the supply chain at every stage, from cutting production at source to preventing profitability, and stopping money laundering

"Drug traffickers do not stop at national frontiers and international cooperation is vital to combat the problem," added Mr Cook. "Action against drugs must be a cooperative venture. We need your help in bearing down on this scourge as never before."