PA Media
Former MP Crispin Blunt has been charged with four drugs offences, prosecutors have said.
The 65-year-old ex-justice minister, who represented Reigate, Surrey, from 1997 to 2024, is accused of one count of possessing a class A drug and three of possessing a class B drug.
The charges were brought after police searches of his home in Horley, Surrey as part of a separate investigation in 2023, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Malcolm McHaffie, head of the CPS special crime division, said there was “sufficient evidence to bring this case to court” and it was “in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings”.
The class A drug is alleged to be methylamphetamine and the class B drugs are alleged to be GBL, cannabis and amphetamine.
Blunt was the parliamentary under-secretary in the Ministry of Justice for prisons and probation between 2010 and 2012.
He represented the Conservative Party from his election in 1997 until October 2023, from which point he sat as an independent.
The 2023 search happened in connection with a separate rape investigation, which ended when Surrey Police concluded there was “insufficient evidence to proceed” and no further action would be taken.
Blunt said at the time he was “confident” he would not be charged.
McHaffie said: “We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against this defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial.
“It is vital that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
Blunt is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 25 March.
Additional reporting by PA Media
