Former Tory frontbencher 'was urged to keep quiet about being a secret nudist'

Danny Finkelstein told the unnamed shadow minister it was OK to admit to smoking cannabis but not to being a nudist

Lord Finkelstein told the shadow minister it was OK to admit to smoking cannabis but not to being a nudist (Getty)

A former Conservative front bench politician was a nudist – who was warned by the party never to reveal his penchant.

The unnamed politician is understood to have served in William Hague’s Shadow Cabinet – three years after the Tories lost power.

Despite never having taken off his clothes in a public place he was told to keep quiet about his proclivity by Danny Finkelstein – then a senior adviser to Mr Hague and now a newspaper columnist and Tory peer.

Writing in The Times Lord Finkelstein said the shadow cabinet minister had rather strangely blurted out his secret during a debate on smoking cannabis.

Lord Finkelstein told the shadow minister it was OK to admit to smoking cannabis but not to being a nudist.

“I firmly advised him that were he ever to be asked about this by a reporter, he should try to avoid giving an answer. Revelation would be politically highly undesirable. This was far worse than smoking dope.”