THE fact that 20 years ago Michael Gove used cocaine would normally be immaterial to me, but he was the Education Secretary who presided over a teacher’s Code of Conduct which imposed life bans on teachers using Class A drugs.

This clearly stinks of hypocrisy. Moreover, he was a member of a government which launched a so-called ‘war on drugs’ that criminalised thousands of working-class recreational drug users and ruined their careers and future job opportunities in the process.

Apparently Mr Gove once hosted a party where he and his rich chums snorted cocaine.

Isn’t it strange that such parties are never raided by the police, even though senior officers are well aware that cocaine use is endemic among the rich and feckless elites?

Mr Gove can thank his lucky stars that he belongs to the privileged classes, as otherwise he would have been marked with a criminal record for the rest of his life.

John Gilmore, Bishop Auckland