The Mayor of London is reportedly planning to decriminalise certain drugs in a new scheme, with intentions to end prosecution of young people caught with cannabis.

Sadiq Khan’s scheme will allow under 25s who are caught with Class B drugs – including cannabis, ketamine and speed, to receive awareness classes or counselling, instead of arrest.

The Telegraph reported that Lewisham, Greenwich, and Bexley will be the boroughs who are included in the pilot scheme.

The Metropolitan Police has agreed that officers will not engage in drug charges against the three south London boroughs participating in the scheme.

Instead, the young people involved will be offered a course to educate them on the risks of drug use which is now a process called “diversion”.

Youth workers will run the process, rather than police - with under 25s given the opportunity for counselling if required.

The results of this pilot scheme will be strongly assessed before any further roll-out across the UK.

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “The Mayor firmly believes that drug use, and its related crimes, are preventable and not inevitable.

“That is why his approaches to tackling these issues are rooted in deterrence and early intervention.

“City Hall is working closely with community groups across London, providing them with the resources they need to tackle poverty, alienation and a lack of opportunity so that they can help bring about lasting change in their local area.

“A core focus of this work is investigating various ways in which young people can be diverted away from low-level drug use by being better informed about its harm, and MOPAC is actively involved in discussions around this scheme.

“We know that we’ll never be able to simply arrest our way out of the problem, which is why we continue to work on schemes that provide young people with support and education, rather than simply putting them through the criminal justice system – with the aim of diverting them away from drug use and crime for good.”

Asked about reports in the Telegraph that Sadiq Khan is considering a scheme to avoid prosecution of young people caught with Class B drugs, Sir Keir Starmer has said he is “not in favour of changing the law to decriminalise drugs”.

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He said: “On the drugs legislation, I’ve said a number of times and I will say again, I’m not in favour of us changing the law or decriminalisation.

“I’m very clear about that.

“I haven’t seen the detail of the proposals that you’ve reported on.

“As I understand it they are early measures, they are some sort of pilot.

“Obviously we’ll look at those, but I’m very clear that we’re not in favour of changing the drugs laws.”

Sadiq Khan pledged to set up a London drugs commission, to review whether cannabis possession should be decriminalised.

However, under this new pilot scheme, The Telegraph reported that the pardon may apply to all Class B drugs, which would also effectively legalise amphetamines, known as “speed”.

Similar schemes have previously been tested by police and crime commissioners in Somerset, Durham and the West Midlands.

Mr Khan's scheme will reportedly be announced this month and will be led by Lewisham mayor, Damien Egan.