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UK: Blunkett attempt to embarrass Howard over smoking backfires
Nicholas Watt, political correspondent The Guardian
Friday 23 Jan 2004 Tory leader told to come clean on his past David Blunkett's loose tongue landed him in hot water once again last night after he challenged Michael Howard to come clean on whether he had ever smoked cannabis. Days after quipping that he wanted to toast the death of Harold Shipman, the home secretary was gently rapped over the knuckles by Downing Street last night for his attempt to embarrass Mr Howard. The political spat flared up when Mr Blunkett appeared on the Today programme yesterday morning to defend his decision to reclassify cannabis as a class C drug. Hours after Mr Howard had pledged to reverse the policy, Mr Blunkett tried to embarrass the Tory leader by seizing on his recent refusal to say whether he had smoked cannabis during his student days at Cambridge and in the US in the early 1960s."Let's ask him 'Did you ever smoke it?'" Mr Blunkett asked. The home secretary felt confident about challenging Mr Howard because he is a member of a rare breed of Westminster politicians who have never smoked dope. "No I never smoked cannabis," he declared. "But if I had, I would be quite transparent about it because 40-odd per cent of under 30-year-olds have." Adopting what some saw as a rather sanctimonious tone, Mr Blunkett said he would congratulate Mr Howard if he owned up to any youthful transgressions. Asked what his response would be if Mr Howard said he had smoked cannabis, Mr Blunkett said: "I would say 'Fine, thanks for being honest. [But] what would your parents have said if we had picked you up for smoking it, criminalised you and had you banged up in jail?'" But Mr Blunkett indicated that Tony Blair was unlikely to receive the same treatment. Asked whether the prime minister had ever smoked a joint, he said: "Goodness me, he played the guitar very well, but it is not synonymous with having a puff." The inconsistency in Mr Blunkett's position - turning the spotlight on Mr Howard while letting the prime minister off the hook - prompted Downing Street to distance itself from the home secretary. Insisting that he would not comment on whether the prime minister had smoked cannabis, the prime minister's official spokesman described Mr Blunkett's remarks as a "bit of political knockabout". But asked about the inconsistency, the spokesman added: "I am not sure that a policy debate on an issue like this is defined by a discussion of what you mention." The Tories last night took great delight in reminding the government that it was in no position to offer lectures on the importance of coming clean on cannabis. Researchers at Conservative Central Office unearthed statements by cabinet members who refused to respond to a Daily Mail survey in October 2000. Spokespeople for Mr Blair, Jack Straw, John Prescott, Margaret Beckett, Geoff Hoon, John Reid and Alistair Darling all said they refused to respond to such surveys. The Daily Mail survey was prompted by a Tory row over drugs, which explains Mr Howard's diffidence. The newspaper attempted to discover the smoking habits of ministers when shadow cabinet members sank the career of Ann Widdecombe after she said cannabis smokers should receive a criminal record.
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