Justice Secretary David Lammy faces a critical mid-January deadline to outline robust measures for stopping drones smuggling deadly drugs into prisons. The mandate follows a coroner's stark warning issued after the death of 29-year-old inmate Derrion Adams at HMP Birmingham -- a case that has come to symbolise the systemic failure to secure prison perimeters.
Adams died on October 31, 2024 from cardiac arrest triggered by complications from using synthetic cannabinoids, commonly known as "Spice" or "Black Mamba". The substances were inhaled via a tampered vape found in his cell. Following a November 2025 inquest, Area Coroner Emma Brown issued a Prevention of Future Deaths report, stating that drugs delivered by drones have made such substances so widely available that they constitute a permanent "risk to life."