Tory leadership contest turns nasty

Clarke: "I've never touched cocaine"

Kenneth Clarke has brought the issue of hard drug use into the Conservative leadership race, by declaring he had never taken cocaine.

The denial came at a hustings in Westminster, where the former Chancellor was grilled by a group of right-wing Tory MPs and asked if he had ever taken class A drugs.

The same question was not put to current bookies' favourite David Cameron, the 39-year-old "young pretender" who shot into the lead in the polls following his well-received party conference speech last week.

Mr Cameron has previously come under the spotlight for his refusal to confirm or deny whether he smoked cannabis as a student.

More in the Scotsman.