Getting arrested for cocaine possession would be a pretty miserable experience for any twenty-something. As for the parents, the news is likely to be greeted with a mixture of concern and embarrassment, especially so if mum happens to be a high-profile politician and dad a senior judge.

The son of the former Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt and William Birtles, a circuit judge, has been arrested and held in a police cell overnight after allegedly being caught with cocaine reports The Times .

Nicholas Hewitt-Birtles, a 21 year old sales representative, was charged with possession of the drug and his friend was released on police bail pending analysis of a substance found on him.

Added to the cocktail of events is the fact that Judge Birtles, 64, has spoken out previously about the drug problem in the streets around his home. He once told Chemist & Druggist : “We have a serious drug problem throughout Camden which is well known by the local police. We have got dealing at the end of my road.”

And problems even closer to home if the allegations turn out to be correct.

Patricia Hewitt’s son arrested in connection with cocaine possession [The Times]