Brand is a pariah now – but our liberal elite still prefer his views on drugs to mine: PETER HITCHENS

The writer argues that Russell Brand’s past prominence on drug policy shows how much more receptive British liberal institutions were to Brand’s views than to his own. He says he dislikes Brand and believes him unfit for public life, while acknowledging that his own prejudice makes it difficult to judge the criminal convictions mentioned in the article.

He recalls three encounters with Brand in 2012, including BBC appearances and a parliamentary committee hearing, and says Brand’s position that drug abuse is a disease aligned with the prevailing liberal view. The article then shifts to praise for Polish director Paweł Pawlikowski’s film *Fatherland*, set in post-war Germany, and concludes with the writer’s view that conservatives should avoid starting wars.