Nine days of intense speculation ended last night when the Home Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, was confirmed as the Cabinet Minister whose son is at the centre of drugdealing allegations. A statement from Downing Street made it clear the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, intends to give Mr Straw his unequivocal support and scotched suggestions that Mr Straw will resign.
A Downing Street spokesman said: "Jack Straw has acted honourably and correctly throughout this episode. It has been a very difficult time for him and his family. The Prime Minister has given him his full support throughout and continues to do so." The speculation in the British media about the identity of the minister and his son was ended in the High Court in London yesterday when it lifted an earlier injunction, obtained by the Attorney General, Mr John Morris, which banned the media in England and Wales from naming Mr Straw and his son, William (17). It had become clear, the court said, that the press in Scotland and Europe had already named the minister and access to articles was freely available on the Internet.
In a judgment delivered in open court, Mr Justice Toulson backed an appeal by the Sun and lifted the injunction.
Pointing out that Mr Straw and his son had been identified in several Scottish and French newspapers, which were not subject to the injunction, Mr Justice Toulson said anyone who wanted to find out their names could do so "with comparatively little difficulty".
"The question is whether the stage has now been reached where it would be artificial to pretend that anonymity can be preserved. If that stage has been reached, to maintain the injunction would do nothing to protect the young person or respect for the law."
Mr Desmond Browne QC, representing the News Group of papers, had argued in a private court session that the injunction could not be upheld because of the amount of publicity the case had prompted outside England and Wales. After 15 minutes, during which Mr Geoffrey Bindman, the lawyer representing Mr William Straw, was allowed to speak to his client, the decision was taken to lift the injunction.
However, Mr Bindman appealed to the media "not to pester William at this very difficult time".
The speculation about Mr Straw and his son began with an article in the Mirror on Christmas Eve alleging that William Straw sold a small quantity of cannabis - 1.92 grammes - to a newspaper reporter in a London pub. While the report did not name either Mr Straw or his son, it sparked off a chase in the press to reveal their identity. The farcical nature of the incident was highlighted when it became clear that Mr Straw, who is responsible for tough crime and drug policies under the Labour government, made it known that he wanted to speak about the allegations. However, even though Mr Straw had taken his son to a police station to make a statement, the injunction prevented him from doing so.
Mr Straw, who is trenchantly opposed to legalising drugs, spoke of his "frustration" in recent days at having to maintain his anonymity insisting that he wanted to "do the right thing". His son was recently offered a place at Oxford University to study politics, philosophy and economics and Mr Straw said he simply wanted to "protect" him.
He also spoke of his annoyance at suggestions that he acted improperly when the Mirror journalist who revealed the incident, Dawn Alford, was arrested by police in London for possession of drugs. The charges against Ms Alford are pending, but it is unlikely that either she or William Straw will face criminal charges.
The Shadow Home Secretary, Sir Brian Mawhinney, welcomed the lifting of the injunction last night but he said it was for Mr Straw to decide if his position had been "irreparably damaged".