BLUNKETT ATTEMPT TO EMBARRASS HOWARD OVER SMOKING BACKFIRES

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.