MP introduces bill for drugs law change after death of Yorkshire schoolgirl

Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton, said it could help protect young people from harm and deter the callous dealers who are “preying” on them.

The Conservative MP introduced the Supply of Drugs to Children Under 16 (Aggravated Offence) Bill today, without any opposition, and it will be debated by MPs in the House of Commons on October 28.

It comes after he met with Kerry Roberts, who has been campaigning for a law change since the death of her 15-year-old daughter Leah Hayes in 2019.

She suffered a cardiac arrest when she took MDMA with friends in a Northallerton car park and the teenagers who supplied the Class A drug - Connor Kirkwood and Mitchell Southern - were ordered to serve 21 months and 12 months respectively in young offenders institutions.

Mr Hollinrake told MPs the “unimaginable” tragedy of Leah’s death was exacerbated when the two dealers received short custodial sentences and “ended up serving a paltry six months each”.

He said the bill, known as Leah’s Law, aims to make selling or attempting to sell drugs to children under 16 a specific criminal offence, which can be punished with tougher sentences, and make it clear that children cannot consent to taking illegal substances.

“You would think we would offer greater protections for our children, against those who seek to exploit their innocence, when it comes to the supply of drugs. But we do not,” he said.

“Of course it’s currently an offence, under Section 4 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, to supply a controlled drug to any person. But by having this blanket approach to sentencing, we are not protecting those who need it most.”

He added: “We must deter these perpetrators from preying on our children. We can start to tackle this issue on behalf of all the families whose lives have been devastated by drug crime.”

Mr Hollinrake said various other laws already offer “greater protections” to children, as it is illegal for adults to sell them alcohol and cigarettes, or even allow them to use sunbeds.

The MP also said there is a “huge gap in the law”, as using a child to deliver drugs or supplying drugs in schools are already treated as aggravating factors which can lead to longer prison sentences.

Ms Roberts launched a petition, calling for a law change, and it gained more than 10,000 signatures. But in April the Government responded to say it has “no plans to make it a specific offence to supply a child with drugs”.

In its written response, the Government said selling a banned substance to anyone is already an offence under Section 4 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and the law “does not differentiate between different classes of person based on age or any other characteristic”.