Tory star suspended after being pictured at 'cocaine snorting party'

Rising Tory star suspended after being pictured ‘snorting cocaine off signed photo of David Cameron’ at raucous party with friend

• Philip Stephenson-Oliver allegedly watched as friend snorted using a banknote
• He has been suspended as chairman of Tories’ Westminster North association

A Tory association chairman has been suspended after reports that he dished out what is claimed to be cocaine at a raucous party – on a signed photograph of David Cameron.

Philip Stephenson-Oliver, chairman of the party’s Westminster North association, was allegedly caught on film watching as a friend appeared to use a banknote to snort so-called ‘fun flour’ in his bedroom at a party at his house on July 14.

According to the Sunday Mirror, a witness at the party claimed Mr Stephenson-Oliver produced ‘cocaine’ from a bedside drawer and took a line of the substance.

The paper claimed footage showed the association chairman, who has rubbed shoulders with Rishi Sunak, gripping the picture of former Prime Minister Mr Cameron before apparently taking a line of the substance himself. 

Last night, a Tory Party spokesman said: ‘Philip Stephenson-Oliver has been suspended by the party pending an investigation.’ 

But Mr Stephenson-Oliver told the paper the video footage was ‘potentially an invasion of my privacy’ and he will challenge the ‘very questionable testimony’ of what was reported.

The video is said to have been taken hours after the Tory was with the party’s London mayoral candidate Susan Hall at an event organised by his Tory association.

Mr Stephenson-Oliver, who has also been pictured next to Mr Sunak, Deputy PM Oliver Dowden and ex-Health Secretary Matt Hancock, was photographed with Ms Hall.

The report quoted a witness claiming that after producing what was allegedly cocaine, he fired off pub-style quiz questions to decide whose turn it was to snort it.

But according to the Mirror, the footage showed Mr Stephenson-Oliver hunched over, gripping the picture of the ex-PM before lowering it and then getting to his feet having apparently laid out a line of the substance. 

The paper added that a photo of the framed picture of Mr Cameron showed remnants of white power, a rolled-up note and a bank card displaying Mr Stephenson-Oliver’s full name.

Mr Stephenson-Oliver told the Sunday Mirror: ‘A few seconds of video footage filmed illicitly by someone I thought was a friend is both disappointing and potentially an invasion of my privacy and the privacy of others.

‘I certainly challenge the very questionable testimony and actions that night from the person that the newspaper relies on for this story.

‘However, I do apologise for any embarrassment that these covert and out of context images might bring to others.’

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