Sajid Javid, a Conservative leadership candidate, has hit out at the middle-class users of class A drugs who fail to think of the “countless lives destroyed” by the trade, after his rival, Michael Gove, confessed to taking cocaine in his 30s.
Javid, the home secretary, said he would not comment directly on Gove’s admission but he said his view was that people taking class A drugs needed to think about the horrific abuse of young children trafficked into the trade.
He also highlighted the hypocrisy of those who “have their organic food, they boast about buying fair trade, they talk about climate change and at the same time, come Friday or Saturday night, they’re all doing drugs – and they should think about the impact they’re having – especially on children with the rise in county gangs”.
Speaking on Sky’s Ridge on Sunday, Javid said: “Anyone that takes class A drugs needs to think about that supply chain that comes, let’s say, from Colombia to Chelsea, and the number of lives that are destroyed along the way … people should be thinking about the impact they’re having on others.”
The issue arose after Gove admitted to the Daily Mail that he had taken cocaine when working as a young journalist. He did so before publication of a book about him by the journalist Owen Bennett, saying he “deeply regretted” taking cocaine “on several occasions” more than 20 years ago.
In a further embarrassment, the Observer reported that in 1999 Gove wrote an article in the Times setting out why he opposed what he called “London’s liberal consensus” on loosening rules on the use of cocaine and other drugs. In the piece, headlined “When it’s right to be a hypocrite”, he set out why he believed drug laws should not be repealed.
With the drugs story overshadowing his campaign, Gove revealed in the Sunday Telegraph that he would as prime minister pledge to scrap VAT and replace it with “a lower, simpler, sales tax”. He would also cut business rates.
Michael Gove
The environment secretary is to pitch himself as a “unity candidate” capable of attracting leavers and remainers, as he formally declared his candidacy saying: “I believe that I’m ready to unite the Conservative and Unionist party, ready to deliver Brexit and ready to lead this great country.” But robust Brexiters in particular dislike the fact that he stayed loyal even in the final days of the crumbling May regime.
Sam Gyimah
The former universities minister is calling for a ‘final say on the Brexit deal’ as the only way to break the parliamentary deadlock. Gyimah is the only candidate offering a second referendum on Brexit, saying ‘There is a wide range of candidates out there but there is a very narrow set of views on Brexit being discussed’.
Matt Hancock
The health secretary remains a relative outsider, but the longer the race goes on, the more he gains ground for the seemingly basic virtues of being apparently competent and broadly similar to a normal human being, albeit a particularly energetic one. A concerted effort would probably require an image consultant.
Mark Harper
The former immigration minister and chief whip was behind the controversial ‘go-home’ vans when working under Theresa May at the Home Office. He resigned as immigration minister in 2014after it emerged he was employing a cleaner who did not have permission to work in the UK. He later served as David Cameron’s chief whip. But he has not served in Theresa May’s government and has, therefore, sought to cast himself as the candidate who offers ‘fresh thinking.
Jeremy Hunt
Fears that the foreign secretary would be another overly woolly compromise choice were hardly assuaged when after a set-piece speech he seemed unable to outline why his brand of Conservatism might appeal to voters. Hunt has been backed by Liam Fox.
Sajid Javid
The home secretary still has the same weaknesses: he is an uninspiring speaker and some worry he is too fond of headline-grabbing, illiberal political gestures. But he is almost as ubiquitous as Liz Truss, and clearly believes this is his time.
Boris Johnson
The out-and-out favourite, so popular with the Tory grassroots that it would be hard for MPs to not make Johnson one of the final two. He has been relatively quiet recently, beyond his regular Telegraph column, but this is very deliberate.
Andrea Leadsom
The former House of Commons leader, who left Theresa May as the last candidate standing when she pulled out of the previous leadership race in 2016, has decided to have another tilt at the top job, saying she has the “experience and confidence” to “lead this country into a brighter future”. But even with her staunch Brexiter tendencies, she would be seen as an outsider.
Esther McVey
The former work and pensions secretary, who quit last year over May’s Brexit plans, has launched her own in-party campaign group/leadership vehicle called Blue Collar Conservatism, promising to make the party more amenable to voters in deprived communities – mainly through a promise to deliver a strong Brexit and policies such as diverting much of the foreign aid budget to schools and police.
Dominic Raab
Few things say “would-be leader in waiting” like a kitchen photoshoot with your spouse, and the former Brexit secretary duly obliged with this imageawash with tasteful pastel hues. He formally launched his bid in the Mail on Sunday. Among the more core constituency of Conservative MPs, Raab has been pushing hard, as has his semi-official “Ready for Raab” Twitter feed.
Rory Stewart
The cabinet’s most recent arrival – Mordaunt’s promotion to defence led to Stewart becoming international development secretary – certainly has the necessary ambition and self-belief, plus a privileged if unorthodox backstory covering Eton, Oxford, a senior role in postwar Iraq and a bestselling book about walking across Afghanistan. He remains an outsider, not least because of his remain tendencies and slightly 2010 view of compassionate Conservatism. He’s become a social media darling and been endorsed by Ken Clarke, but his reputation as ‘Florence of Belgravia‘ may hinder him.
And those not in the running
Sir Graham Brady, Penny Mordaunt and James Brokenshire are yet to declare their intentions. Liz Truss and Amber Rudd have ruled themselves out.
Among other senior figures not expected to run are Brandon Lewis, Chris Grayling and Philip Hammond. Gavin Williamson’s recent sacking after the Huawei leak inquiry will also surely rule him out as an option this time around.
James Cleverly and Kit Malthouse withdrew from the contest.
The environment secretary said he would use “the money we get back from the EU” to invest in “towns and communities which have suffered most from de-industrialisation”, and introduce an Australian-style points based immigration system “to ensure the most innovative and gifted from across the globe can help us prosper”.
Gove’s supporters have said they suspected the cocaine story had been leaked deliberately by the camp of one of the other candidates as part of a “dirty tricks” operation.
The episode led to other candidates being asked about their drug use. Dominic Raab, who has already admitted taking cannabis as a student, told the BBC: “It was a long time ago and pretty few and far between. I have never taken cocaine or any class A drugs.”
Andrea Leadsom said in a statement: “I have never taken cocaine or class A drugs. Everyone is entitled to a private life before becoming an MP.”
Javid said he had never taken any drugs, while Rory Stewart has said he smoked opium while travelling in Iran. Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, has said he once drank a cannabis lassi in India.
Boris Johnson has said he was offered a “white substance” at university, but none went up his nose because he sneezed. He said he has “no idea whether it was cocaine or not”.
