Michael Gove has said he was "fortunate" not to go to prison after admitting taking cocaine on "several" occasions.

The environment secretary's admission of drug use during his time as a journalist has rocked his Conservative leadership campaign.

It prompted a rival candidate to take aim at middle-class drug users and the "impact" of their lifestyle and "the number of lives that are destroyed along the way".

The latest developments in the Tory leadership race came as:

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt used a Sky News interview to attack "empty rhetoric" on Brexit and label Boris Johnson a "Marmite character".

Mr Johnson used a newspaper interview to pledge to hold on to the UK's £39bn Brexit divorce bill until the EU offers a better deal, as he attracted the support of more cabinet ministers.

Former leadership contender James Cleverly told Sky News he is now backing Mr Johnson.

Mr Hunt revealed German Chancellor Angela Merkel told him the EU "would be willing to negotiate" on the Brexit deal with a new prime minister and "would look at any solutions" the UK offers on the Irish border.

Mr Hunt was criticised for restating his view that the legal time limit on abortion should be reduced from 24 to 12 weeks.

Former cabinet minister Esther McVey, on Sky News, refused to rule out temporarily suspending parliament in order to push through a no-deal Brexit and said the EU elections showed the UK public did not want the current withdrawal agreement.

Mr Gove vowed to scrap VAT after Brexit and replace it with a "lower, simpler" alternative, while Home Secretary Sajid Javid promised a "multi-billion" boost to education funding financed through a slowing of UK debt reduction.

Both Mr Hunt and Mr Javid committed to taking part in a Sky News debate between leadership candidates.

On Mr Gove's admission, Mr Javid - who is also standing to succeed Theresa May as prime minister - told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme: "Anyone that takes Class A drugs, they need to think about that supply chain that comes from Colombia to, let's say, Chelsea, and the number of lives that are destroyed along the way.


"There are people that, they have organic food, they boast about buying fair trade, they talk about climate change and, at the same time come Friday or Saturday night, they're all doing Class A drugs.

"And they should be thinking about the impact they're having, especially on children, with the rise in county gangs and the horrific abuse I've seen as home secretary of young children that are being trafficked into this trade."

'They need to think about that supply chain'

Despite what will be viewed as a thinly-veiled attack on his fellow cabinet minister, Mr Javid said it was not for him to comment on Mr Gove's drug-taking.

Mr Gove has confessed to using cocaine more than 20 years ago at social occasions when he was a "young journalist", but said he does not believe he had a drug habit.

Questioned about his actions, he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: "It was a crime, it was a mistake. I deeply regret it."

'I lived life to the full as a young person'

Mr Gove admitted he was "fortunate" not to go to jail, adding: "I do have a profound sense of regret about it all and I am very, very aware of the damage that drugs do."

He is now facing further questions over whether he declared his drug use on US visa application forms, following claims he could now face a ban on travelling to America.

But the cabinet minister said: "I don't believe that I've ever, on any occasion, failed to tell the truth about this when asked directly."

He added: "I think it is the case that, if I were to be elected prime minister of this country, then of course it would be the case that I would be able to go to the US and I think it's foolish to suggest otherwise."

A spokesman for Mr Gove's campaign said later: "We have taken legal advice from a QC who is satisfied that Michael completed his forms correctly."

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Talking about his younger days to Sophy Ridge, Mr Hunt said: "Every 19-year-old does things that they wouldn't want their mum and dad to find out about."

He added: "I said I drank a cannabis lassi when I was backpacking through India - whether that really counts as doing drugs I don't know.

"Look, I had a fantastic time when I was young, I lived life to the full."