Former Conservative MP Crispin Blunt has been charged with four drugs offences, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
The 65-year-old, who represented Reigate, Surrey, from 1997 to 2024, faces one count of possessing a Class A drug and three counts of possessing Class B drugs.
The charges came after police searched his home in Horley, Surrey, in October 2023 as part of a separate investigation.
Malcolm McHaffie, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime Division, said:
“Our prosecutors have established that there is sufficient evidence to bring this case to court and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.
ALSO READ: Israel kills Iran intelligence chief, Esmail Khatib
“It is vital that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
The Class A drug is alleged to be methylamphetamine. The Class B drugs include GBL, cannabis, and amphetamine.
Blunt, who served as justice minister for prisons and probation from 2010 to 2012, lost the Conservative whip in October 2023 after a separate arrest for suspicion of rape. That investigation was later dropped.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 25 March.