Injunction lifted on Spelman son's drug case

The teenage son of Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman took banned steroids to try to recover from a serious injury that threatened his international rugby ambitions.

An injunction was lifted yesterday after the Spelman family abandoned their attempts to prevent the story about their talented sportsman son Jonathan, 17, from being published after spending more than £60,000 in legal fees.

The family secured an injunction last month preventing the Daily Star Sunday from reporting the story about the former England under-16 player. The Spelmans claimed the story was a political attack. Last week, a High Court judge refused to continue the injunction but gave the Spelmans until yesterday to appeal.

Mrs Spelman and her husband Mark said in a statement yesterday that their son was "deeply sorry for the mistakes he has made".