Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has admitted she is an habitual drug-taker, and that she regularly smokes cannabis, reports the BBC.
Speaking on today's lunchtime news programme, Smith, 54, told viewers that she often relaxes "with a spliff after dinner" and sees nothing wrong with the practice.
"I often have a joint after me tea", she said, "I don't think it does any lasting harm. My two young sons both have a stash in their bedrooms, and they seem unaffected by it."
Ms Smith claims that she first experienced the seedy world of drug addiction whilst studying Philately at Oxford University in the 1980s.
"There isn't much I haven't tried!" she laughed. "Those were fabulous days...er...I think...I can't really remember!"
Her startling admission comes just a day after Prime Minister Gordon Brown told ministers Smith would be heading a review of the government's UK drugs strategy, including a possible re-think of the cannabis laws, and the status of that drug as a Category C substance.
"A message to users", she said, "You've nothing to fear from me. I'm one of you!"
