United Bermuda Party candidates have submitted to random drug testing and all were drug-free.

John Barritt, the Shadow Attorney General, said: "What the PLP says on drugs rings out very hollow because when it comes to showing leadership, they are missing in action.

"In May 2004, for the second time in two years, the PLP Government refused a United Bermuda Party motion to have all MPs set an example and subject themselves to random drug testing.

"In December 2005, the new National Drug Control Minister, Wayne Perinchief, stated that mandatory drug testing should apply to everybody, including his own MPs. It didn't.

"Since the beginning of 2003, UBP parliamentary members – and now candidates – have submitted to random, independent drug testing and all are drug-free.

"We believe that the fight against drugs in our community begins at the top.

"How can anyone take them seriously on fighting drugs when they fail as a group to show any leadership in refusing to take random drug tests?"

Mr. Barritt also alleged that the PLP had not adhered to any coherent strategy for the treatment, prevention and interdiction of drugs and that a recent announcement by Social Rehabilitation Minister Dale Butler lacked credibility.

"Their approach has been piecemeal, it has not been comprehensive, and there has been no continuum of strategy," he said. "The whole thing has been a mess."