Manchester’s night time economy advisor Sacha Lord said he is “shocked and disheartened” over the number of spiking victims – and stepped up his calls for new legislation.
The 50-year-old invited Twitter followers to share their experiences after accusing the government of making a U-turn on introducing a spiking offence.
Lord – a safety and finance advisor for nightlife in Greater Manchester – says he was stunned by the number of people who got in touch and says he has made it his “mission” to try to overturn the decision.
He tweeted: “I’m shocked and disheartened how many victims of Spiking have messaged me over the last 24hrs.
“Most haven’t reported it.
“This isn’t right. Spiking MUST be a specific offence.”
Home Office Minister, Sarah Dines, stated there were enough laws in place that covered the spiking offence and the government had not found any gaps within the law.
When the U turn was announced, Lord said: “This U Turn is shameful and dangerous.
“What sort of a message does this send to all those girls and women who lobbied the Govt to bring this in?
“This isn’t about politics, this is about safety at night.
“Whatever is in place at the moment isn’t working.”
‘Spiking’ is the act of adding either drugs or alcohol into someone’s beverage without their knowledge or consent.
A YouGov poll found that one in nine women and one in 17 men in the UK said they have been a victim of drink spiking in 2021.
