WASTED

Fury as drug agency boss flies to Oz 5 days before harm reduction summit begins.. and taxpayer foots the bill

- MARK MCGIVERN

SCOTLAND'S biggest drugs body has been criticised for sending it's incoming boss to a conference in Australia - five days before it starts.

Kirsten Horsburgh's taxpayer-funded trip to Melbourne comes a month after she was unveiled as the new CEO of the Scottish Drugs Forum charity, which receives millions of pounds of public funding.

Critics claim it is a waste of public cash to head to Oz five days before the Harm Reduction 23 conference kicks off - and seven days before she chairs a debate on Drug Consumption Rooms.

DCRS are now up and running in 16 countries but Scotland has failed to open a facility due to opposition from the UK government and sluggishness from the Crown Office to establish a legal framework to run such facilities.