JOHN WEED

Cops' Sniffer Dogs Find Cannabis In House Of Defence Secretary

RED-FACED Defence Secretary John Reid was last night forced to
deny taking drugs after police sniffer dogs found cannabis in his home.

Reid, 58, said the drugs did not belong to any of his family adding:
"I have no idea where it came from... or when."

Special Branch officers on antiterrorism duties found a small amount
of cannabis resin, claimed to be worth just 85p, at his house in
Bellshill, Lanarkshire.

Reid is the FOURTH Cabinet minister to come a cropper in four days.
Home Secretary Charles Clarke was left reeling by the foreign
prisoners scandal, Deputy PM John Prescott confessed to cheating on
his wife with a secretary and health chief Patricia Hewitt was heckled
by nurses over NHS reform.

Reid's explanation that the cannabis was not his, was found in a guest
room and could have been 20 years old has been accepted by police who
are taking no action.

He said yesterday: "I can confirm that a minuscule amount of cannabis
resin was found in the guest room of my home by police carrying out a
security check.

"I am told that it weighed a fraction of a gram, was worth around 85p
and could be years old. I have no idea where it came from, or when.

"There is absolutely no suggestion that this in any way involves me or
members of my family and both I and Strathclyde Police regard the
matter as closed."

Reid, who has just returned from visiting Afghanistan, is guarded
round the clock by Special Branch officers.

His home is regularly checked by security teams when he is away for
any length of time.

One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: "Police usually search
the house two hours before he comes home if he has been away.

"But last Friday sniffer dogs were involved in the operation. I had
never seen the dogs there before."

Reid was not at the house at the time of the discovery although he was
informed very quickly.

Police said yesterday that they will submit a report on their
discovery to the procurator fiscal but will take no further action.
Last night one of the Cabinet minister's aides said that "hundreds" of
people had visited the house over the years and there was no way of
telling how the drug got there.

The house is within Reid's former constituency of Hamilton North and
Bellshill in Lanarkshire. He became the MP for Airdrie and Shotts last
year because of boundary changes.

Reid initially shared the house with his first wife Cathy and their
two sons.

Cathy died in 1998 and friends say he has spent little time in the
house over the last few years.

Dr Reid, 58, married Brazilian film director Carine Adler four years
ago.

Last September, he shared centre stage at his son Mark's wedding with
a villain on the run from police.

Reid and fugitive Ronnie Campbell - the father of the bride - stood
side-by-side on the steps of Westminster Cathedral.

Yesterday Campbell claimed he knew "all about" the cannabis found at
Reid's home but declined to comment further.

One political ally said: "The drugs are far more likely to have
belonged to friends, or friends of his sons, than to him.

"He doesn't spend thatmuch time in that house and he doesn't have the
faintest idea how it got there."

Reid, a key ally of Tony Blair, is one of Labour's ministerial
heavyweights. He has held the posts of Health Secretary, Northern
Ireland Secretary, Scottish Secretary and Leader of the House.

While he was Northern Ireland Secretary he presided over the
declassification of cannabis from a class B to a class C drug.

He was forced to defend himself against claims that he was soft on
drugs and was sending out the wrong message.

He said at the time: "Those who are convicted of cannabis-related
offences can expect to face the full force of the law.

"Cannabis will be reclassified as a Class C drug on the basis of
scientific and medical evidence but those found guilty of possessing
it could face up to two years in prison."

In 2000, Reid was among Cabinet Ministers who refused to say whether
he had ever tried the drug.

And last year he ran into trouble when he wrongly claimed the Lib Dems
were planning to declassify crack and heroin.

In January this year a 'legalise cannabis' campaigner appeared in
court charged with sending drugs to Reid.

Jeffrey Ditchfield, 45, the owner of a cannabis cafe in Wales, was
charged with attempting to supply a cannabis plant to Reid at his
office in Whitehall.

Strathclyde Police assistant chief constable John Corrigan said: "I
can confirm that we have investigated the discovery of a small piece
of cannabis resin in a guest room of a house within the force area.

"The owner of the house has cooperated fully with police and is not
suspected of having committed any crime or offence."

Neighbours defend MP over cannabis discovery

DRREID'S neighbours in the quiet cul-de-sac in Lanarkshire leapt to
his defence yesterday.

Wholesaler Nareem Cariq, 47, said: "The only thing I can think of is
that maybe when his boys were younger they had some friends over and
one of them left this small piece of cannabis behind, possibly after a
party, years ago.

"I would not imagine it would have anything at all to do with Dr Reid.
He's a really nice man and good neighbour who is liked by everyone
here."

Peter Grover, 54, an evangelical church pastor, said: "We are used to
seeing police come and go at Dr Reid's address but in the last couple
of days there has been a major presence.

"On Friday night there were two police cars and a jeep there as well
as Dr Reid's limousine so I presume he was at home at that point.

"We have only been here a couple of years so we don't really know him
that well but I would be surprised if the cannabis had anything to do
with him.

"It is not something I can get excited about. It was a tiny amount
which we are told could have been there 20 years."