Keir Starmer has announced that he will introduce new legislation to make the spiking of drinks a specific criminal offence. The legal changes sound harmless, but it is entirely unnecessary.

Drink spiking is clearly illegal under section 61 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003: someone commits an offence ‘if he intentionally administers a substance to, or causes a substance to be taken by, another person’ without consent, ‘with the intention of stupefying or overpowering’ them ‘to enable any person to engage in a sexual activity’ with the victim.