Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025

London firms should test their staff for drugs, says mayoral candidate

London firms should test their staff for drugs, says mayoral candidate

Every business with more than 250 employees should conduct random drug tests on their staff and share the results publicly, the Tory London mayoral candidate has said.

Shaun Bailey, 49, said the scheme would help expose middle class cocaine users who fuel the ‘explosion’ of drug-related crime among poorer communities. In an open letter addressed to London’s business leaders, he described how people who bought drugs were ‘funding the criminals’ who ‘unleash mayhem’ in the capital.

London is the biggest consumer of cocaine in Europe, with a study by Kings College London finding it holds a market worth of around £1,000,000,000 per year.

Mr Bailey said: ‘This is a huge problem. Drug use is not only a crime in itself; drug use is a direct cause of crime, from county lines gangs to stabbings on our streets.

‘When people buy drugs, they are funding the criminals who traffic vulnerable kids and unleash mayhem on our streets.

‘So as mayor, I’ll call for every business in London with over 250 employees to sign up to a drug testing charter.’

London is the biggest consumer of cocaine in Europe


Mr Bailey said the individual results of the drug tests would be anonymous, stating that the purpose of the drug-testing charter would not be to ‘get employees fired or shamed’.

He went on: ‘The purpose is to change our culture. City Hall will publish an annual league table showing which companies have the highest and lowest rates of drug use. Because… the way to start tackling a problem is to shine a light on it.’

Mr Bailey grew up in a council house in Ladbroke Grove, west London, and was a youth worker with gang members for 20 years.

Earlier this month he described how he had more in common with a ‘white kid from Dagenham’ than a black child from Hampstead, as he claimed recent conversations about race were ignoring the class divide.

He previously came under fire for articles published in 2005 and 2006, in which he said good-looking girls tend to ‘have been around’ and single motherhood had become ‘wrongly assumed to be acceptable’.

In 2018, he publicly commented on the unearthed articles, writing on Twitter: ‘In 2005, I wrote about what it was like growing up around the estates of Ladbroke Grove because it felt like nobody was writing about lives like mine. Now my words are being used to attack me. That’s politics, and I’m up for it.

‘But we’re never going to tackle the problems facing some of our poorest communities if we only listen to career politicians. We need to hear other perspectives, even if they’re raw and still developing.

‘Coming into public life has given me a broader and more rounded perspective to London’s problems. That’s why I’m running to solve them.’

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
×