Pubdate: Mon, 12 Feb 2007 Source: Mirror, The (UK) Copyright: 2007 The Mirror Contact: http://www.mirror.co.uk/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1161 Author: Oonagh Blackman, Political Editor Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom) ABSOLUTELY SPLIFFING Cameron Did Smoke Dope At Eton And Oxford But He Still Refuses To Say Anything About It DAVID Cameron faced damaging questions about his honesty last night after refusing to comment on revelations that he DID smoke cannabis at Eton and Oxford. A new biography discloses that the Tory leader narrowly avoided being expelled from Eton aged 15 for smoking "spliffs". It also refers to his "infrequent and moderate" consumption of cannabis during his three years at university. Declaring that Mr Cameron's integrity could become an election issue, a Labour source said: "Nobody cares what drugs he took, or how recently he stopped taking them. "The question is, why isn't he just upfront and honest with the people about it? What has he got to hide?" Mr Cameron has previously refused to comment on claims he took drugs. Yesterday, he was still staying mum. Speaking outside his expensive farmhouse in Dean, Oxfordshire, he said: "Like many people I did things when I was young that I shouldn't have done, and that I regret. "I'm not issuing a denial. What I'm saying is that I think it's an important principle that politicians are entitled to a private past. "Today, I'm a Member of Parliament putting myself forward to be Prime Minister. "You're perfectly entitled to follow me round, put cameras up my nose, and have a good look at me. But I wouldn't recommend it." There was no immediate Tory backlash over the disclosures or Mr Cameron's silence. But ex-Tory Cabinet Minister Lord Tebbit warned: "My advice to him would be: Get it out of the way and it will be a seven-day wonder. "If you don't, people will keep turning up another expose." Mr Cameron's refusal to deny the claims could also make him vulnerable to Gordon Brown, his probable rival in the next election. Mr Brown has made it clear he has never taken drugs. The new biography, Cameron: The Rise of the New Conservative, claims that in 1982 teenager Cameron admitted to Eton head teacher Eric Anderson that he smoked cannabis. He was named by another pupil. In the school's worst drug scandal, seven pupils were expelled. But because Cameron had only smoked the drug and not dealt in it, he was confined to school grounds for two weeks. He was also fined and ordered to copy out hundreds of lines of Latin verse, the book says. If true, the revelations would make Mr Cameron the first leader of a major party and first prospective Prime Minister to have indulged in illegal narcotics. In the Tory leadership election frenzy in October 2005, Mr Cameron would only say that he had a "normal university experience" when asked if he had taken drugs. He has also refused to comment on speculation that he took cocaine when a PR executive with Carlton TV. Yesterday Mr Cameron's close friend, Shadow Chancellor George Osborne, declared: "The public really don't care." Mr Osborne, once pictured with an arm round a woman described as a "cocaine-snorting hooker", said: "It's not been denied by David. "But he's also said that we're not in the business of saying politicians can't have a private life before they come into politics." Shadow Foreign Secretary and former party leader William Hague said: "We all did things we regret. It's one of those things, I suppose. "This makes no difference to my view of him or, I think, to the view of most people in the country." Shadow Commons leader Theresa May said: "Politicians are entitled to a private past." Oliver Letwin, chairman of the Tories" policy review, denied the claims would damage Mr Cameron in the voters' eyes. He said: "I think he's done the right thing all along." He also dismissed the suggestion that the focus on Mr Cameron's privileged upbringing - and publication of photos of him in a #1,000 tailcoat at Oxford's champagne-quaffing Bullingdon Club - would damage his image. Labour Cabinet Ministers avoided going on the attack publicly in a sign that attitudes to cannabis are now far more liberal in Britain. The drug has been reclassified from Class B to C and possession is mostly dealt with by a caution. Home Secretary John Reid said: "I think it was Andy Warhol who said most statements could be answered with the question 'So what?' "I think this is one of those 'So what?' moments. Do we really care if David Cameron some years ago was involved in doing something wrong? "I think the public will probably say 'So what, let's move on and find out what he stands for'." Last month, Mr Cameron said he would consider legalising cannabis for medicinal use if he won power. But he ruled out decriminalising it for recreational use. He said on his webcameron website: "If you decriminalise, you increase the availability and make it more difficult for parents trying to keep children away from drugs." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom