Government drug policy descended further into farce over the Bank Holiday, as a seventh expert resigned from a key advisory group citing "media and political pressure".

A sixth senior drugs adviser has resigned from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs over the government's persistent refusal to listen to experts properly when formulating policy.

Church activists participating in the World Council of Churches' United Nations Advocacy Week meetings in New York delved deeply into the tragedies and injustices of the current bloody conflict in Colombia. Mark Beach tells the human story behind the politics.

The British government today faces more embarrassment over its treatment of scientific evidence on policy over the misuse of drugs, as three more top advisers resigned last night, bringing the total to five.