Cabinet minister Jack Straw's son has hit back after he was sacked as a governor of a London school.
Will Straw, who was a former pupil at the school, Henry Fawcett Primary in Kennington, was one of 12 governors removed by Lambeth council amid concerns over financial management and poor teaching.
He said it had been "very traumatic" and defended his record as a governor.
He also rejected being labelled a "drug pusher" after fresh criticism over his exposure in the media for attempting to buy cannabis while at school.
Oxford graduate Mr Straw, 29, became a voluntary governor at the school in 2004. He has spent much of the past two years in the United States studying for a masters degree and working for a Washington think tank.
Comments posted on the Standard website questioned why he was allowed to remain a governor while in America and whether he was simply retained for his "high-profile name".
Mr Straw, who returned to London a few months ago, posted his response. "What has happened at Henry Fawcett over the last 18 months has been very traumatic for me and - more importantly - for the pupils, parents, and teachers," he said.
"As such, I was a bit surprised by some of the comments and wanted to come back on two points in particular.
Readers questioned Mr Straw's suitability for the role of school governor, given his past involvement with drugs. But he said "I was never a 'drug pusher'", adding that "a close friend" had been paid £2,000 to arrange a meeting between him and an undercover journalist.
"I was stupid enough to arrange for her to buy 1.92g of cannabis resin from a third party.
"I was 17 at the time and received a police caution, which was wiped clean five years later. This is not grounds under US law for entry to be refused at the border although I do still have to obtain a visa prior to travelling."
Lambeth town hall sought permission from Children's Secretary Ed Balls to replace the school's governors with an interim executive board last month.
Councillor Paul McGlone said the standards of education at the school had been "falling year on year" and the governors had failed to draw up an acceptable plan for improvement.
An Ofsted report in 2006 praised the headteacher for "good leadership" but judged the 350-pupil school's effectiveness to be only "satisfactory".
The head, James Walker, who was diagnosed with cancer last year, has been suspended. His lawyer said this was after an allegation on a different matter by an assistant headteacher.
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