The former MP Crispin Blunt has pleaded guilty at Westminster magistrates court to four charges of possession of drugs including cannabis and crystal meth.

The 65-year-old former justice minister appeared at Westminster magistrates’ court on Wednesday to admit four drugs charges, which stem from a raid on his home in Horley, Surrey, on October 25 2023.

Blunt was in possession of the sedative drug GBL, cannabis and methamphetamine, which is commonly known as crystal meth. He pleaded guilty to one count of possessing class A drugs and three charges of possession of class B drugs.

The drugs were found when Blunt, who represented Reigate in parliament between 1997 and 2024, was being investigated on suspicion of rape. After an 18-month investigation, Surrey police announced in May last year that there would be no further action on the rape allegation due to insufficient evidence.

Blunt, wearing a charcoal-grey suit, white shirt, and purple tie, is representing himself in the criminal court proceedings.

Blunt represented the Conservative party in Parliament. He served in David Cameron’s government as parliamentary undersecretary of state for prisons and youth justice from 2010 to 2012, and went on to chair the foreign affairs committee from 2015 until 2017.

He lost the Tory whip in October 2023 when he was first arrested and stood down from parliament at the 2024 general election.

Prior to entering politics, Blunt was a graduate of the Sandhurst military academy and spent more than a decade as an officer in the British army.

More details soon …