TABLOID REVEALS NEW DRUG 'EVIDENCE' ABOUT DALLAGLIO

The News of the World defended its investigative methods yesterday and
claimed to have gathered new evidence of Lawrence Dallaglio's alleged
involvement in supplying drugs.

The newspaper, which was condemned for its methods of obtaining
Dallaglio's "confession" that he had taken and supplied drugs, said
the "nightmare of drugs" justified its methods.

Dallaglio, 26, resigned the England Rugby Union captaincy last Monday
after the paper quoted him as saying that he dealt drugs when he was
18 or 19, took cocaine and ecstasy on a British Lions tour of South
Africa in 1997 and hired prostitutes while playing in a seven-a-side
tournament in Amsterdam.

When his comments were made public, Dallaglio, who is the father of
two young children, denied any wrongdoing, saying he lied to impress
reporters posing as representatives of a shaving products company
seeking to offer him a lucrative sponsorship deal.

The newspaper has been criticised for the so-called "honeytrap" it
used to secure the scoop, whereby two undercover reporters, one a
young woman, gave Dallaglio champagne to drink and encouraged him to
talk about drugs.

The previous week, the same paper had used a similar "sting" to
persuade Tom Parker Bowles to admit to drug-taking.

Dallaglio added a fresh twist to the controversy over the weekend by
suggesting that reporters may have spiked his drink to get him to
talk. But the newspaper defended its investigations, saying its
tactics were "undercover not underhand".

The paper claimed that the sportsman had acted as a go-between
supplying cannabis to fellow schoolboys at Ampleforth, the Roman
Catholic school in North Yorkshire. It also claimed that 6ft 4in
Dallaglio acted as a minder to drug dealers at the school while a
sixth-form student.

According to the News of the World, Dallaglio was 16 when he first
became involved with drugs, acting as an intermediary between boys in
his house at Ampleforth and Antony Booth, a fellow student who ran a
drugs ring.

Dallaglio responded to the latest allegations by reiterating his
previous denial. "I totally stand by the statement I made earlier this
week. I have not taken drugs during my rugby career. I have admitted
to experimenting with drugs in my youth, which I bitterly regret,
however I vigorously refute the suggestion that I have ever dealt in
drugs."