26 years after heroin took his boy, ex-minister warns of new generation of addicts in spiralling crisis

Ian, who was raised in East Dunbartonshire but served as an MP in England from 1987-2010, said over the years he had found different ways to cope with the grief of losing Hugh.

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Hugh had been struggling with addiction for several years, but was fighting to get clean before he died, and had always remained much loved by his family.

On solutions to tackle the drug deaths crisis Ian stressed there is no “instant fix”.

It comes as Scottish ministers have pushed for “harm reduction” measures like the controversial supervised drug-injecting facility in Glasgow, aimed at reducing overdose deaths. But Ian warned the facility in Gallowgate, known as The Thistle, risked becoming a “pit-stop” for addicts.

He said: “You do what you do before you get to the place, you do what you do inside and you do what you do when you get out of the place.

“This centre was placed there, I'm sure, for the best of reasons. But it's almost alien for local residents.

“They've woken up one morning to find they've got a drug pitstop in their area. And don't be surprised when you see the drug gangs move in.”