Labour MP Lied to Police and Parliament Over Drug Scandal, Leaked Message Reveals
It was revealed that the Daily Mail had proof that Labour MP Stephen Doughty lied to police that he had not illegally taken prescription drugs from a vulnerable constituent on more than one occasion, and that he intentionally misled parliament in his subsequent apology.
Byron Long, a constituent of Labour MP Stephen Doughty, claimed to the Mail on Sunday to have first approached the Cardiff South and Penarth MP over a housing issue. He claimed he had since given him up to 140 diazepam pills during up to 20 meetings at a Cardiff coffee shop.
The Labour MP has strongly denied Mr Long's version of events, saying he had been "good personal friends with Byron Long for many years" and that he only asked for "a few spare diazepam".
Possession of Class C drug diazepam, without a prescription, carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.
A spokeswoman for Doughty said at the time, in May 2021 "Stephen has spoken openly about his own struggles with mental health issues. He is sad to have to reveal personal medical information in these circumstances – but feels that others talking about their mental health experiences can help de-stigmatise the challenges so many people go through. He has been prescribed medication over the last 12 years on a number of occasions, including diazepam, to deal with panic attacks and anxiety disorder, alongside talking therapies." adding "Stephen had been good personal friends with Byron Long for many years and they regularly met for coffee, food and discussions about a range of issues, ranging from family, to politics, and their shared fondness for cats."
"Stephen had personally assisted Byron as a friend through some difficult periods in his recent life, which Mr Long had profusely thanked him for on many occasions, and he regularly checked in on his well-being. He had also supported and encouraged Byron with local voluntary work – such as campaigning with Mind and the local St Vincent de Paul shop. Stephen and his office had also assisted Mr Long for many years dating back to 2013, as a constituent, on multiple issues he had requested formal assistance on. He and his team have spent a considerable amount of time assisting him, as they would do any other constituent, to the best of their abilities."
"Stephen categorically denies having obtained 140 diazepam tablets from Mr Long." she added "He has never had that many in his life and is aware that their use should be limited for example for a short period of acute anxiety. His regular meetings with Byron consisted of tea, coffee, cake and chat between two friends."
"In summer, 2019, Stephen was due to take a long overseas flight and was suffering last minute and unexpected panic attacks about the upcoming journey, which had made him extremely uncomfortable and distressed. To the best of his recollection, at the time he was panicking, had been unable to get to a GP for an appointment, and as a friend who he regularly shared confidential personal mental health worries and anxieties with, asked Byron if he had a few spare diazepam, which he had previously been prescribed for such circumstances, and taken without any issues."
"Stephen apologises unreservedly for any error he made in making this request, which was to a friend who he had shared many highly personal, trusted and mutually supportive conversations with about mental health over many years. In the event Stephen subsequently cancelled his trip – and did not need medication."
The Mail on Sunday printed what it said was an exchange of messages between Mr Long and Mr Doughty, who was a member of the Labour front bench. Allegedly, Doughty invited Long to his home to meet his new cat, adding "PS, do you have any spare diazepam by any chance? I haven't been able to get to my GP and need some for flying next week! X." Long replied "Of course 7 ok 5 mg."
However, despite the earlier statement, and despite the Labour MP standing up and issuing a formal apology for the record, there are messages from one of the Daily Mail's journalists who worked on the story, in which they confirm that they had more messages confirming that Doughty was lying, but that they were forced to omit them from their article for legal reasons.
"The 'victim' [Byron Long] has got loads of texts between him and Doughty" the Daily Mail reporter confirmed. "There's loads more to this story that got legal'd out. Doughty abused his position as an MP to score drugs from his constituent for years!" he added.
In May 2022, police had been asked to revisit the case against Doughty, but the investigation, has not been looked into any further.
At the time, South Wales Police decided against questioning Doughty over having possession of the drug without an appropriate prescription. Doughty was later investigated by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, who also found he had no case to answer despite having made a 'serious error in judgement'. However, their decision was predominantly based on Doughty's own claims that his illegal activity had only taken place on one occasion – a claim that is now in serious doubt.