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Tory MP tasked with regulating drugs has husband that grows 45 acres of cannabis

© ReutersBritain's Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office Victoria Atkins.

A Tory MP and drugs minister has been accused of "deception" by a pro-legalization pressure group after it was found her husband has a 45-acre cannabis farm.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Vulnerability, Safeguarding and Countering Extremism, Victoria Atkins MP, has come under fire over the revelations about her husband.

Campaign group Clear has revealed how the drugs minister, who fights against calls for the legalization and decriminalization of substances, is married to the managing director of British Sugar, Paul Kenward. One of British Sugar's undertakings is growing cannabis seedlings for medicine.

Kenward's company is in partnership with GW Pharmaceuticals, a UK biotech firm, which is developing an experimental treatment called Epidiolex, in order to treat severe forms of childhood epilepsy. However, his wife is strictly against drug use and a process of legalization and regulation in the UK. At least, in Parliament she is.

As is often the case, it's the children who suffer:

• UK: Cannabis license considered for boy saved from seizures by using "just 3 drops" of medicated oil
• Irish govt permits special license for medicinal cannabis oil (CBD) to girl suffering from severe form of epilepsy

Atkins previously rallied against drug consumption rooms (DCR) - or 'shooting rooms' - where addicts can safely abuse substances. In a drugs policy debate in summer 2017, she said: "We are talking about gun-toting criminals, who think nothing of shooting each other and the people who carry their drugs for them. What on Earth does my Honorable Friend think their reaction will be to the idea of drugs being regulated? Does he really think that these awful people are suddenly going to become law-abiding citizens? I do not share the optimism of others about tackling the problem through regulation."

This woman is out of touch with reality. Which is understandable considering how it would harm her husbands investments: Portugal's radical drugs policy is working. Why hasn't the rest of the world copied it?

Peter Reynolds, the author of the exposé and president of Clear, wrote on its website: "Aside from the usual, hysterical and evidence-free claims that so-called 'skunk' cannabis is causing an enormous increase in mental illness, which she trots out repeatedly, she rejects any idea of regulation in drugs policy as a means of reducing harm.

"However, in what must be the most blatant hypocrisy ever from a government minister, Ms Atkins benefits directly from regulation of drugs. With this latest scandal the shameful truth about UK drugs policy and the corrupt nature of this Conservative government is highlighted once again.

"It is difficult to believe this bare-faced dishonesty can prevail in a country that was once held up as an example of honour and decency but as with so much that Theresa May has been responsible for since she entered government in 2010, we are disgraced, shamed and the electorate is treated with absolute contempt."

• Employers are foregoing drug tests due to tight job markets and legalized pot
• San Francisco to expunge thousands of marijuana convictions which will "right so many wrongs"

"Monitoring shows that, in general, the [ceasefire] regime has been observed. Over the past few days there has been a decrease in the number of violations," Yevtushenko said.

"At the same time, with the general stabilization of the situation in the country, the situation in the Eastern Ghouta de-escalation zone remains extremely tense. Radical groups operating in that enclave continue to violate the ceasefire regime. They constantly open fire on the government troops to provoke them to respond," he said.

"The militants act arbitrarily against civilians in Eastern Ghouta up to public executions, prohibiting them to leave the area under the threat of death. They seize food, medicines, drinking water and private vehicles from people. Senior citizens, women and children are forcibly held hostage and used as a human shield," Yevtushenko said.

He stressed that the extremist groups operating in the era continue to violate the ceasefire.

"Yesterday, the UN and its partners' mission to deliver assistance to people in Douma, in eastern Ghouta, was forced to be cut short due to escalating violence and insecurity. Airstrikes and shelling in Douma and shelling of Damascus continued for hours while the inter-agency convoy was delivering food for 27,500 people, in addition to health and nutrition supplies," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

"After nearly nine hours inside, the decision was made to leave for security reasons and to avoid jeopardizing the safety of humanitarian teams on the ground," he went on. "As a result, 14 of the 46 trucks in the convoy were not able to fully offload critical humanitarian supplies."

Of the 14 trucks, four were partially offloaded.