.png)
8 hours ago
4
PA Media
Crispin Blunt had represented Reigate as an MP for more than two decades
The former Conservative MP and justice minister Crispin Blunt has pleaded guilty to possessing illegal drugs, including cannabis and crystal meth.
He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court to admit four drugs charges, following a police raid on his Surrey home in October 2023.
The 65-year-old was found with the chemical sedative GBL, cannabis and methamphetamine - commonly known as crystal meth.
Blunt is due to be sentenced later on Wednesday.
The ex MP, who represented Reigate between 1997 and 2024, was under investigation on suspicion of rape when officers discovered the drugs.
He pleaded guilty to one count of possessing class A drugs and three charges of possession of class B drugs at the hearing on Wednesday.
In a speech lasting more than 30 minutes, Blunt told the court criminal charges should never have been brought against him.
He argued he should have been acquitted on the basis that charges for possession of drugs should not exist.
Politicians have "sat with moral simplicity that drugs are bad... without regard to the appalling consequences of that simple position", Blunt said.
Malcolm McHaffie, head of the CPS special crime division, previously said there was "sufficient evidence" to bring Blunt's case to court.
Surrey Police said in May last year no further action would be taken over the rape allegation due to insufficient evidence after an 18-month investigation.
Blunt said at the time he was "confident" he would not be charged.
PA Media
Blunt was charged after police searched his home in Surrey
Blunt served in David Cameron's government as parliamentary under-secretary of state for prisons and youth justice from 2010 to 2012.
He went on to chair the Foreign Affairs Committee from 2015 to 2017.
Blunt lost the Tory whip in October 2023 when he was arrested by police, from which point he sat as an independent.
The graduate of the Sandhurst Military Academy stood down as an MP at the 2024 general election.
He spent more than a decade as an officer in the British Army before entering politics.
