STRAW'S SON GETS POLICE CAUTION

The long-running media saga enveloping the Home Secretary Jack Straw was
brought to a predictable conclusion last night when his son William was
cautioned by police. Scotland Yard said William, aged 17, received the
caution following allegations he had supplied cannabis to a Mirror
reporter. He earlier attended Kennington police station, in south London,
with his father.

A police spokesman said no further action would be taken against Mirror
reporter Dawn Alford, who was arrested by police after she bought 1.92
grammes of cannabis resin from the teenager.

Mr Straw, who appears to have emerged politically undamaged, last night
appealed to the media to show continued restraint in covering the case.
“William is learning the lessons of this episode and he of course has my
support in doing so,” he said.

“I am grateful for the restraint shown towards him by most of the media. I
hope they will continue to agree he should not suffer additionally simply
because he is my son, nor should my family. “I have no plans to make any
further public comment about William.”

Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan was “delighted” that Ms Alford had been
“exonerated of any wrong-doing”. He said: “It was a scandal that she was
arrested simply for doing her job. ” William Straw had been “rightly
cautioned”.

The Mirror was last night preparing to publish tape-recordings of the
encounter between Ms Alford and the teenager at a south London pub before
Christmas in an effort to prove he had not been “coerced into selling drugs
against his will”, Mr Morgan said.

Mr Straw was identified 12 days ago as the minister involved after a High
Court judge lifted the ban on naming his son. The ban had degenerated into
a political and legal fiasco.

Copyright Guardian Media Group plc 1998