A BRADFORD businessman-turned-politician has tackled the EU about dealing with the heroin problem affecting his constituency and Europe.

Amjad Bashir, Ukip MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, raised the subject of the damage caused to society by illicit opioids, including heroin, at the parliament in Brussels.

Mr Bashir, UKIP's communities spokesman, said: "Beyond it's health impact, the illicit opioid industry also has a detrimental effect on stability and security in a number of places, including through the funding it provides for insurgents in production areas, particularly in Afghanistan.

"How do you propose to protect the citizens of Europe from this dangerous drug problem which blights so many lives and damages society?"

Frederica Mogherini, the new EU high representative on foreign policy, responded: "This is one of the issues on which will be useful to work as a team in the Commission because obviously it has aspects relating to different policies and different actions we might take internally and externally."