YES, IT WAS MY SON SAYS STRAW. BUT I'M AS HARD-LINE ON DRUGS AS EVER

Jack Straw spoke of his embarrassment yesterday as he was finally
identified as the father of the teenager alleged to have sold drugs to a
journalist. Michael Streeter and Colin Brown say he will press on with his
crusade against crime and to make parents take more responsibility for
their children's actions.

The Home Secretary last night told of his "shock and concern" after
learning that his son William faced an accusation of drug dealing after an
undercover operation by the Mirror newspaper.

Mr Straw, who has spoken privately of his frustration over his enforced
anonymity, said he was now "very relieved" to be able to speak out after
the High Court lifted the ban on naming his son,

He agreed that his William, aged 17, who has been accepted for a place at
Oxford University, ought to expect no favours from the legal system, but
neither should he suffer more for being the son of a prominent politician.

"When the Mirror first spoke to me I felt the same emotions as any parent
would do in such circumstances - those of shock and concern.

"Being a parent means giving love and support, and - when it's necessary -
confronting children with their wrong-doing. When a child does wrong, I
believe it to be the duty of a parent to act promptly," Mr Straw said.

His son had gone voluntarily with him to the police and would accept "any
sanctions" which arise. He was "of course" embarrassed by this but it did
not affect his ability to speak on law and order matters including drugs
policy. Neither he nor Downing Street had ever considered him resigning,
and last night the Prime Minister's office said he had Tony Blair's full
support.

"I have always sought - and so have my colleagues - to conduct our family
lives the same way as other people.

"These are experiences that other families have had and so it does not in
any way affect my ability to talk on these matters."

The naming of Mr Straw as the father of the arrested youth followed an
agonising period in which, day by day, the secret trickled out in every bar
England and Wales.

After what one opposition MP called "slow torture" for Mr Straw's family, a
High Court judge, Mr Justice Toulson, lifted an injunction which banned the
media in this country from identifying the youth.

On the day that Scottish newspapers published the minister's identity, the
judge asked "whether it was sensible or appropriate for the court to
maintain opposition in which matters can be published in Greenock but not
in Carlisle".

His lifting of an injunction - originally granted at the wish of the
Attorney General on Tuesday when the Sun threatened to publish - brought to
an end a period not just of uncertainty for the Straws, but also a time of
growing confusion over the law.

Newspapers in France, Ireland and media all around the world had revealed
the identity of Mr Straw who was not named when the Mirror broke the story
on Christmas Eve claiming that one of their reporters had bought £10 of
cannabis from his 17-year-old son William.

William was arrested and released on police bail. Next week the Crown
Prosecution Service will decide whether to prosecute. There are indications
that a police file sent to the CPS believes that because of conflicts in
evidence of what happened on the night there should be no further action,
except possibly a caution for the youth. No decision has been made yet on
the reporter who reportedly received the drugs, Dawn Alford, who was
arrested and bailed by police on Monday.

Philip Havers QC, for the Attorney General John Morris, had argued at a
private hearing yesterday that the injunction granted by Mr Justice Moses
on Tuesday should be continued.

But Mr Justice Toulson said when Mr Justice Moses made his order, the
identity of the boy was not widely known and it was now common ground that
"there had been a major change of circumstances".

The judge said a French newspaper had used the names and they were also
available on the Internet. "The question is whether the stage has now been
reached where it would be artificial to pretend that anonymity can be
preserved. "