CANNABIS FOUND AT HOME OF DEFENCE SECRETARY

Cannabis resin with a street value of 85p was found during a routine
security search of the home of the Defence Secretary John Reid.

The discovery came while Reid was in Afghanistan last week visiting
newly deployed British troops. Strathclyde police said that the
cannabis, weighing less than a gram, had been found in a guest room
in Reid's home in his former constituency of Hamilton North and
Bellshill in Lanarkshire.

Assistant Chief Constable John Corrigan said that Reid had
'co-operated fully with the police and is not suspected of having
committed any offence'.

Reid issued a statement confirming that a 'minuscule' amount of
cannabis resin had been found, and added: 'I have no idea where it
came from, or when. There is no suggestion that this involves me or
members of my family and both I and the Strathclyde Police regard the
matter as closed.'

Defence ministry sources said that the drugs could have been in the
house for up to 20 years, during which time hundreds of people had
passed through.