A "minuscule" amount of cannabis has been found at the Scottish home of the British Defence Secretary John Reid, police and sources close to the minister said today.
Strathclyde police said less than 1 gram (0.03 ounces) of cannabis resin, with a street value of 85 pence, had been found in Dr Reid's home during a routine security search, but that no charges would be brought.
A source close to the former Northern Ireland secretary said the drug had probably been there for 20 years, during which time hundreds of people have been in the house.
He said Dr Reid had moved into the house in the 1980s with his first wife, who has since died.
John Corrigan, assistant chief constable of Strathclyde, said in a statement the owner of the house had cooperated fully with police and was not suspected of committing any crime or offence.
Prime Minister Tony Blair's government is currently mired in a series of scandals.
Home Secretary Charles Clarke is facing calls to resign after his department failed to consider for deportation over 1,000 foreign prisoners who had completed their jail sentences.
And Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who had condemned the former Conservative government for a spate of sex and sleaze scandals, has admitted having an affair.
According to the Daily Mail newspaper, Mr Prescott's lover has signed up with a well-known publicist to sell further details of the story.
Dr Reid is one of Mr Blair's most senior colleagues, having previously held the posts of health secretary, Northern Ireland secretary and leader of the House of Commons.