Ex-Tory minister Crispin Blunt pleads guilty to possession of crystal meth

The former justice minister Crispin Blunt has been fined £1,200 for possessing illegal drugs after he told a court he entered the world of chemsex parties to help inform government policy.Blunt, 65, a former Conservative MP for Reigate, pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates Court to four charges of possessing methamphetamine – commonly known as crystal meth – cannabis and the chemical sedative GBL.The drugs were found when police went to his Surrey home on 25 October 2023 as part of an investigation following a chemsex party.Blunt, who represented himself, said the charges against him came after he fell victim to a blackmail and extortion plot involving his drug dealer who had accused him of rape. No charges were brought over the rape allegation after an 18-month investigation.In a 30-minute speech to the court, Blunt criticised the decision to charge him and suggested all drugs should be legal.He said he first took an interest in drugs policy after being appointed as a justice minister in David Cameron’s government, and claimed his “first-hand experience” – including hosting drug-fuelled chemsex parties at his home – had helped to inform his campaign to change policy.The prosecutor, Zarah Dickinson, said: “This arises from a police investigation into offences alleged to have occurred during a chemsex party at Mr Blunt’s home address in September 2023. No charges were brought on those alleged offences.”Police had attended Blunt’s home and he was “polite and calm”. Crystal meth valued at £200 to £250 was found on Blunt’s bedside table, plastic bottles containing a crystal meth and amphetamine mix were recovered, and a syringe containing £200 of GBL was found in a laptop bag, the court heard.Officers also recovered a bag of cannabis valued at between £5 and £10, as well as weighing scales containing powder residue.Sentencing Blunt, the deputy chief magistrate Tan Ikram said: “As a former minister for prisons, probation, and justice, you – like all public servants – served as a role model to all. I do note your views and your position on prohibition on possession and usage of drugs.“That said, I’m sure you as a former parliamentarian believe in the rule of law. The fact is your actions have risked undermining confidence in all parliamentarians by breaking the very laws you enacted.”Ikram said Blunt’s crimes were aggravated by his admission to hosting drugs parties and facilitating the use of illegal substances by others.Blunt said criminal charges should never have been brought against him and wanted a jury trial to argue for his acquittal on the basis that the drug possession charges should not exist. He suggested that possession of drugs charges against a first-time offender usually ended with an out-of-court caution, and hinted at a belief that his political views on drugs policy, trans rights, and support for Palestinians could be the reason the case was brought against him.He told the judge he was being blackmailed by a builder, who was a drug supplier and who started making demands for money, claiming he had been knocked unconscious and raped by the MP and his partner at one of the parties. Blunt said he handed over £2,000 “in order to buy myself some time”, and went to the police after seeking legal advice.But he said police officers that were called in to investigate his claim of extortion “decided there wasn’t any”.Blunt, a Sandhurst graduate and former army officer, served in Cameron’s government as parliamentary undersecretary of state for prisons and youth justice from 2010 to 2012, and chaired the foreign affairs committee from 2015 until 2017.He lost the Tory whip in October 2023 when he was first arrested by police, and stood down from parliament at the 2024 general election.He pleaded guilty to one count of possessing class A drugs and three charges of possession of class B drugs and was ordered to pay a £480 victim surcharge on top of the £1,200 fine, as well as £200 in costs.