BRITAIN: Just when it looked as if David Cameron had a real chance of becoming the next leader of Britain's Conservative Party, a major shadow fell over his campaign as questions arose about possible drugs use in the past.
This is far more serious than Bill Clinton's admission that he smoked but "didn't inhale" marijuana. What could prove to be the decisive moment for Mr Cameron's prospects of becoming Opposition leader and potential future prime minister came on BBC1's current affairs programme, Question Time, this week when he was asked by chairman David Dimbleby if he had ever used "class A" drugs.
In the UK, drugs are categorised in three classes, A, B and C. Heroin, methadone, cocaine (including crack cocaine), ecstasy, LSD, amphetamines (if prepared for injection) and magic mushrooms prepared for use are all class A drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
A conviction for possession can lead to a maximum of seven years in prison and a fine. Conviction for supply or intent to supply can result in life imprisonment and a fine.
Mr Cameron's opponents are highlighting the fact that he did not give a yes or no answer to Dimbleby's question. He said: "We're both allowed to have had a private life before politics in which we make mistakes and we do things that we should not and we are all human and we err and stray. And I think if you want to have machines as politicians who have never done anything wrong I think that is a very sad day and we should not be driven by the media on that. We should say what matters is the future."
The candidate had already repeated his standard argument against giving a straight and categorical reply: "I have not answered the question about drugs because I think that is all in the past and I don't think you have to answer it."
There was a further twist in the tale when the Evening Standard reported that Mr Cameron had helped a close family member to overcome heroin addiction. The paper said that the relative underwent treatment in a South African clinic after a number of attempts at therapy and rehabilitation in Britain proved unsuccessful.
The shadow education secretary said in a statement he was proud of the way his relative had overcome heroin addiction.
"Someone very close in my family has had a dreadful problem with drugs," he said. "They have come through it, been through rehabilitation and I'm incredibly proud of them. Their life has nothing to do with my candidature for the leadership of the Conservative Party."
The British media have Mr Cameron in their sights.