SACKED drugs expert Professor David Nutt has explained why the Government is wrong about drugs.

Until November 2009 he was chairman of the Government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.

But he was dismissed by Alan Johnson, then the Home Secretary, following a disagreement over the relative harm of different drugs.

Last night he gave a lecture at the University of Kent, Canterbury, on how politics compounds harm.

Organiser Professor Alex Stevens of the university's crime and justice centre said: 'The regulation of drugs – including alcohol and tobacco – is of pressing importance.

"Healthcare costs increase with drug use and new synthetic agents are being developed and sold over the internet.

"Professor Nutt's talk reflected on these issues in the light of his ten years experience on the advisory council.

"He presented new analyses that compare the harms of drugs and alcohol using more sophisticated methodology and challenged many of the current misconceptions about drugs – their harms – and how to deal with them."