Political Focus, with Bill Jacobs

HOME Secretary Jack Straw's desire for a quiet Christmas was destroyed by the Daily Mirror's revelation that his son was acquainted with the very criminal subculture of drugs he was committed to cracking down on.

Although it was only cannabis, the quantity was tiny, and the circumstances of 17-year-old William's actions dubious, the embarrassment for the Blackburn MP was huge.

As the leader of calls for stronger parental control, tough action on petty youth crime, and opposing the legalisation of "pot" his face was redder than Old Labour's flag.

The fact that the whole affair dragged on because of problems naming William as a minor made matters worse as the right-wing tabloids concocted an issue of Freedom of Information.

While the naming of Jack's son was inevitable, the key issue for government lawyers was that to do so immediately would set a dangerous precedent.

Much English Common Law is based on precedent, and if the Home Secretary's son's right to anonymity had been swiftly waived, the child of any celebrity would find his name in the tabloids, with the case of Willam Straw cited as justification.

In the long run, while the affair was horrific for the Straw family and put William's Oxford career briefly in jeopardy, it may do the Blackburn MP no harm.

The reaction from MPs and the public alike - notwithstanding Newport West's left-winger Paul Flynn's calls for his resignation - has been sympathetic.

Criticism of the Daily Mirror - widely suspected of "entrapping" a young innocent rather than exposing a hardened drug dealer - has been almost universal. One leading East Lancashire politician reflecting on the use of an attractive mature reporter to execute the "sting" remarked: "For goodness sake, he's only 17. She chatted him up for four hours.

"After that I'd have gone and got her Westminster Bridge, let alone a few bits of cannabis, when I was that age."

Even MPs on Mr Flynn's wing of the Labour party have sympathy for Mr Straw.

Worsley's Terry Lewis said: "I don't think it has done him any harm as Home Secretary. I think his main concern will be whether it has done any harm to his son.

"Whatever my differences with Jack, I think he was right in everything he did - including not softening his line on legalising cannabis."

Mr Straw's allies think that despite the trauma, it may actually have helped humanise him and give his comments on youth crime, parenting, and drugs extra authority.

Hyndburn MP Greg Pope said: "I think Jack comes out of this well and it certainly hasn't done him any harm. There's been a great deal of public sympathy for Jack and in future when he speaks out on these subjects, people will know he does it from personal experience."

His former secretary-turned Rossendale and Darwen MP, Janet Anderson, said: "Despite his inevitable worries about William, I think it will have done him good. I think he handled it very well and not everyone would have had the same courage and candour. "It will make him seem more human to people and when as Home Secretary he speaks about these issues, they will know he does it with the authority of personal experience about the dangers to young people and their parents."

Consumer Minister Nigel Griffiths said: "It's done him good rather than harm. I think Jack Straw's frankness and integrity have shone through all of this. It is something that every parent of teenage children that I know has said - 'There but for the Grace of God go I'

"I think he has done everything right and that for Jack Straw the New Year starts with his authority as Home Secretary and a leading member of the Labour Cabinet enhanced."

It has dealt Mr Straw's main problem - being seen as a calculating, career politician rather than a fully-rounded human being.

The Tories - and others - have long insulted him as "the permanent bespectacled student statistician" in Westminster.

His spell as Home Secretary has already established him as a good administrator capable in government - a man who reads entire Commons Select Committee reports rather than the conclusions and a summary of highlights.

The William Straw affair has established him in the public mind as a man of flesh and blood rather than pamphlets and figures, and as a dad with the same problems as other parents.

Provided William gets through the affair unscathed and completes a successful Oxford career - no longer unaware of the dangers of having a famous as well as beloved dad - Mr Straw may have cause to thank his son for his misdemeanour. From now on every time he talks about youth crime, drugs and the need for better parenting, everyone will know he speaks from heartfelt experience rather than the New Labour Soundbite booklet.

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