Areas of Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham have become 'no-go' areas where the law is losing the battle against drug traffickers and organised crime, according to the United Nations' drugs chief.
The three cities were directly compared to the drug cartels which hold sway over large parts of Brazil and Mexico by Professor Hamid Ghodse, the president of the UN’s International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).
He said the cities were trapped in 'a vicious cycle of social exclusion and drugs problems and fractured communities'.
The development of 'no-go areas' is being fuelled by threats such as social inequality, migration and celebrities normalising drug abuse, he warned, adding that helping marginalised communities with drugs problems 'must be a priority'.
Eleven-year-old Rhys Jones was one victim of the drug and gang culture permeating Britain.
The youngster was shot in the car park of a pub, in Croxteth, Liverpool, in August 2007 after innocently being caught up in a turf war between rival gangs.
Rhys was killed as he walked through a pub car park on his way home from football training.
Sean Mercer, then aged 16, was aiming at members of a rival gang when he blasted Rhys by mistake.
Members of Mercer’s Croxteth Crew helped him cover up his horrific crime.
Rhys was shot with a First World War Smith and Wesson revolver, and a gang-member was caught trying to buy a replacement weapon just weeks later.
Mercer was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 22 years.
He said: 'We are looking at social cohesion, the social disintegration and illegal drugs.
'In many societies around the world, whether developed or developing, there are communities within the societies which develop which become no-go areas.
'Drug traffickers, organised crime, drug users, they take over. They will get the sort of governance of those areas.
'Examples are in Brazil, Mexico, in the United States, in the UK, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, and therefore it is no good to have only law enforcement, which always shows it does not succeed.'
Prof Ghodse called for such communities to be offered drug abuse prevention programmes, treatment and rehabilitation services, and the same levels of educational, employment and recreational opportunities as in the wider society.
He said: 'Youth of these communities must have similar chances to those in the wide society and have a right to be protected from drug abuse and drug dependence.
'It is crucial that the needs of communities experiencing social disintegration are urgently tackled before the tipping point is reached, beyond which effective action becomes impossible.
'The consequences of failure are too high for society and should be avoided at all cost.
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