FactCheck: Cameron - did he or didn't he?

Background

There's no smoke without fire. That's how the media sees it when it comes to David Cameron.

Last weekend saw fresh claims the 40-year-old smoked cannabis in his youth as a teenager at Eton.

Is Letwin fair to claim Dave has not denied anything? And just what "important principle" has the Tories' great white hope established?

Analysis

The row over whether Cameron stayed off the grass first surfaced in 2005, during the battle for the Tory leadership.

At a conference fringe meeting on 5 October he was asked if he had ever taken drugs. He replied, somewhat mysteriously: "I had a normal university experience."

When pressed, he added: "There were things I did as a student that I don't think I should talk about now I am a politician."

It's not a denial as such - but what exactly is a "normal university experience"? For some people that just involves episodes of Richard and Judy and Pot Noodle - for others more.

Four days after this response Cameron was interviewed by the BBC's Andrew Marr, who probed: "You had a bit of dope when you were a student, so what?"

Cameron was not for turning, he replied: "You can go on asking this question, or we can talk about the things that actually matter to people in terms of policies and ideas."

Rather than a blurred allusion to previous indiscretions, Cameron simply refused to answer the question this time. Again, Letwin's claim stands up - there is no denial.

But what "important principle" is at work here? Is it a firm belief which Cameron holds over rights to privacy? Or is it that he knows the facts will come out one day so he can't be seen to deny them.

To borrow an expression Cameron's supporters are keen to use in relation to this subject, FactCheck "will let the public make of their own minds..."

However, the Tory leader's refusal to say yes or no, meant the subject would not disappear just yet.

It next reared its head on 14 October 2005 on Question Time.

Cameron - who criticised the drug-taking question as purely "media-driven" - told the audience: "You have a right to a private life before you go into politics."

"I haven't answered the question about drugs because that's all in the past - and I don't think I have to answer it."

He added: "We are all human and we err and stray."

The latter sentence - like the "university experience" comment - hints at an admission without giving one.

So again it's not a denial - but then again it's not really anything. Maybe it's a maybe.

Later that month he confirmed to Channel 4 News he'd never taken drugs while serving as an MP, although refused to comment of his life before Parliament.

And that was it; Cameron had ridden out the storm - only for it to re-emerge last weekend.

Faced with significant claims he had been disciplined for cannabis abuse whilst at Eton, he told reporters outside his home: "Like many people I did things when I was young that I shouldn't have done and that I regret.

"Look, I am not issuing denials. What I am saying is I think it's important politicians are entitled to expect a private past."

No denial again. But this time there was the expression of "regret" - it just wasn't accompanied by an admission.

FactCheck Rating: 2

Verdict

Letwin's claim checks out: Cameron has certainly never denied taking drugs in his pre-Parliament days.

However, many critics would suggest that if he has not denied the allegation then he surely should have admitted to it - but that's not happened either.

So is the "important principle" really about right to privacy, or self-preservation? As Cameron says, the public can make up their own minds...

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