Festival boss threatens legal action against Federal Government's restrictions over drug testing

A Festival boss has threatened to file legal action against the Federal Government after it banned on-site drug testing.

Manchester’s Parklife co-founder, Sacha Lord, has written to the Home Office to challenge its decision regarding drug testing at festivals requiring a license, as per BBC News.

In his open letter to Home Secretary Suella Braverman, Lord has urged the government to allow his popup labs to be given the green light.

He said that while he has worked at music festivals for almost a decade, this is the first time the Home Office has required a Controlled Drugs Licence to conduct drug tests.

Lord said on-site drug testing was essential in keeping festival goers ‘safe’.

“It is apparent from the above that the Home Office was well aware that rapid, on-site drugs testing has been conducted for approximately a decade at music festivals in order to keep festival goers safe,” he wrote.

He said the requirement was implemented on June 8, 2023, 48 hours ahead of Parklife festival, making it ‘impossible’ to provide on-site testing this year.

He added that the new policy was ‘pointless’.

“These popup laboratories handle very small quantities of substances for analysis and any remaining samples are destroyed or handed to police at regular intervals thus the need for a named premises is necessary and defeats the purpose,” Lord continued.

Lord concluded the letter by revealing that he would launch a judicial review if he doesn’t hear back from the Home Office by July 7.

While speaking to Rolling Stone, Lord added that the home secretary was a ‘dangerous person’.

“Drugs testing isn’t public facing. It’s back of house and I’ll be honest, I have seen it save lives with my own eyes. Because if you get a very poorly customer that sometimes is unconscious, you can ask their friends what they’ve taken and the scientists in our labs can search for what it sounds like within two minutes. You can tell the doctors what’s in there and it gives that person a fighting chance,” he told the outlet.

LADbible has reached out to Home Secretary Suella Braverman for comment.